In 2021, Jared Bernhardt won the Tewaaraton Award as the country’s top collegiate lacrosse player. He turned his attention toward a professional football career afterwards, but that proved to be a short-lived effort. 
In 2022, Bernhardt joined the Falcons as an undrafted free agent. He would up making a pair of regular season appearances as a rookie before landing on injured reserve in October. Those two contests proved to be the only action of Bernhardt’s NFL career, and in May 2023 he was placed on the reserve/retired list by Atlanta. One year later, the 27-year-old attended a workout with the Giants, but it did not produce a deal allowing for an NFL comeback.
With his football days over, Bernhardt will officially transition back to lacrosse. ESPN’s Field Yates recently noted the Maryland product spoke with each team in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) while aiming to immediately join a team. Earlier this week, he made his decision by signing with the Denver Outlaws (h/t Yates). As a result of that move, Bernhardt is set to make his debut tonight.
The PLL was founded in 2018 with its first season taking place one year later. The league began as a competitor to Major League Lacrosse, but the two wound up merging in 2020. As a result, the PLL – which currently has eight franchises – now operates as a rival to the decades-old National Lacrosse League (NLL). The latter’s latest season recently ended, and the 2025 PLL campaign begins tonight.
Bernhardt’s presence will be notable for the Outlaws in particular and the league in general given his pedigree dating back to his college career. Regardless of how his pro lacrosse endeavors play out, though, an attempt at an NFL return should obviously not be expected.
Wait, the PLL and MLL merged? Why are there still separate leagues?
They’re not. When the MLL merged, the PLL kept 2 team names. The outlaws and the cannons. The PLL is the outdoor pro league. The NLL is the indoor pro league.
Flag football is considered an Olympic sport but lacrosse is not. Absurd!