Baltimore Brigade DB Joe Powell's Journey
Harrison Brown
Friday July 19, 2019
Since signing with the Cleveland Gladiators in 2016 Joe Powell has spent time with three NFL franchises, the Birmingham Iron of the AAF, and currently the postseason bound Baltimore Brigade. His professional football career has seen great success and growth but just a few years ago Powell didn’t see football in his future.
“After I left college I honestly didn’t think I was going to play football again,” Powell says. “I didn’t have the opportunity to go back to school or find any football in the area I was in. At one point and time I thought football was over with, that’s when I built a foundation with God,”
“When I was in Junior College I was living off sixty dollars every two weeks. I was in New York City trying to survive on my own, but through faith in God, I prayed to him every day asking him ‘can you get me through these situations,’ I found a way,” Powell said.
Powell left Globe Institute of Technology after the 2013 football season. He went to live with his parents and found a semi-pro team to join in 2014. Shortly after joining the semi-pro team he learned about Arena Football from his friend Julius Gregory who was signed to a now defunct indoor football team, the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks.
Gregory, now an AFL veteran who spent time with the Columbus Destroyers this year, put in a good word for Powell with the Lehigh coaches. The Steelhawks invited Powell to their tryout as a wide receiver and thought that would be what he played when they signed him to his first contract in 2015.
“Throughout the summer my coach was sending me wide receiver stuff, and the day that I got there for camp the general manager Mike Clark told me I was playing defensive back. I looked at him with a weird look but I was like ‘alright that’s fine with me,’” Powell said.
Powell had played defensive back in high school and more recently during semi-pro but playing indoors is a much different challenge. Despite the learning curve Powell excelled at his new position and recorded eleven interceptions in his first year inside. He was named the PIFL defensive rookie of the year and not long after wondering about his future in football Powell attracted AFL interest.
“I was going to go to the Las Vegas Outlaws during the season but they pushed my date back so I could finish with the Steelhawks. In our playoff game I got hurt and that really pushed me back,”
“I got an email from Cleveland in August saying that they wanted to bring me out, at the time I was still hurt but I knew it was an opportunity for me to move up to the next level. When I went out to Cleveland I took advantage of my opportunity,” Powell said.
During his first two games with the Gladiators in 2016 Powell recorded four interceptions, three of which he returned for touchdowns. The explosive entrance paired with his eleven interceptions the year before caught the eye of everyone in the AFL, but also some scouts and coaches outside of it as well.
“From the way my agent was talking we had the NFL on our minds. Before I got with the Gladiators I had a pro day, my agent somehow set up a pro day for me. I had a lot of NFL interest, they loved my Lehigh Valley film but wanted to see me against better competition,”
“I’m an in the moment guy I really don’t try to look ahead of myself. Once I made those interceptions I still wasn’t expecting NFL interest, I was just doing my job and doing it at a high level. When I got my NFL interest the sky was the limit and there was no looking back,” Powell said.
His first NFL interest came from the Philadelphia Eagles in May 2016, a little over a month after his AFL debut. Powell attended rookie minicamp with the Eagles but wasn’t added to the active roster and returned to the Gladiators for the end of the season.
The New York Giants signed Powell to their ninety-man roster in the middle of August after the Gladiators were eliminated from the playoffs. This was his first glimpse of the day to day NFL life and he lined up against the likes of Odell Beckham Jr. and the rest of the Giants.
Powell appeared in some preseason games but didn’t make the roster after joining the team late in camp. He went back home and continued working out, and in October received his best opportunity yet, signing with the Buffalo Bills practice squad.
“It was an amazing feeling, a feeling I thought I would never feel because I had to grind my way from the bottom and I didn’t have the full-time college experience. Being out there with those guys and being able to compete against some of the best in the world let me know that no matter what level I’m at, I’m always going to be dominant. Even if I get back to the NFL, I’m going to be dominant because I know I can play with those guys,” Powell said.
Contrary to his time with the Giants and in Arena Football, Powell signed with the Bills as a safety: another new position for an already new defensive back.
“Safety was very challenging with the Buffalo Bills because I’d never experienced being the leader or shot caller for an entire defense. It was challenging to try and figure out what I needed to do and then figure out what everyone else had to do. When I was with the Giants I was at corner, so the safeties were relaying everything to me. Once I got to Buffalo it was a challenge that I couldn’t pick up as fast as everyone else,” Powell said.
During his time on the Bills practice squad Ed Reed was an assistant defensive backs coach. Reed, the former Baltimore Ravens safety and NFL hall of famer is widely regarded as one of the best safeties in history. The opportunity to learn from a legend was very beneficial during Powell’s first season at safety.
“Being coached by Ed Reed was amazing, that’s really a blessing to be able to be coached by a hall of famer. I took advantage by making sure I was in his office every morning to learn the plays and pick his brain. It really excelled my game and understanding of how to be a real pro. Being able to be coached by a guy that I watched growing up was an honor and a blessing,” Powell said.
Powell stayed with the Bills for the rest of the 2016 season and training camp in 2017. He didn’t make the roster at the end of camp and hasn’t had another NFL opportunity yet.
He returned to the AFL the following spring, joining the Baltimore Brigade for the 2018 season. Powell was named to the second team All-Arena list after recording four interceptions in his return to the AFL.
After spending the summer inside with the Brigade Powell found another outdoor opportunity in the AAF. He signed with the Birmingham Iron rejoining his former Gladiators coach Ron Selesky who was Birmingham’s director of football operations.
“It was an amazing feeling to play outdoor football in front of former NFL head coaches and hall of famers. To showcase the talent that I have and let them know that you don’t need to come from a big school or background to be a great player. The AAF was a lot of fun and I built a lot of great friendships and brotherhoods with the players out there,” Powell said.
Birmingham was another opportunity for Powell to develop his game at safety which he’d only played with the Bills. Getting more game reps as the secondaries signal caller gave Powell a strong sense of confidence for any outdoor opportunities moving forward.
“The main thing that I loved about it was that I was able to get my mental reps and understand everything. That was my problem in the NFL, I couldn’t grasp it mentally. Being able to play safety outdoors in an NFL style defense excelled my knowledge and my game to be able to read and react to what’s going on,” Powell said.
The Iron along with the entire AAF ceased operations on April 2nd leaving many players without a football home. Powell was able to rejoin the Baltimore Brigade in time for this season but the way the AAF ended still hurts him.
“We had just clinched the playoffs and were excited to come back the next week and go to Arizona. Seeing everybody’s faces and knowing that we had something good going with the brothers in the locker room and being that it just got snatched from us was almost like losing a loved one,”
“It really hurt me my heart knowing that I wasn’t going to go out and practice or hangout with my teammates, we had a really tight knit group. To know that I’d be able to come back to football and some of my brothers would have to depend on an NFL or CFL shot hurt me even more, knowing that my brothers would be struggling or fighting for a job in another league,” Powell said.
Powell hopes to take what he learned from the AAF and translate it to an NFL or XFL training camp opportunity. With the Brigade he plays cornerback and has done so with the Giants outdoors, but he’s ready and willing to play either corner or safety for a team.
“Not many safeties can play corner and not many corners can play safety. I’m a guy who can play both, who can move anywhere on the field and know that I can cover and make a call or check if need be,” Powell said.
This season with the Brigade Powell has recorded six interceptions, the second most in the AFL. The Brigade are postseason bound and will finish the regular season with Atlantic City this Sunday. They fell to the Washington Valor at home last weekend.
“I honestly feel like the guys are going to come back hungry. We haven’t been playing our best ball, but we know that we’re the best in this league. That’s what we preach every day and that’s how we work. We got the Arena Bowl snatched from us last year but we’ve got another opportunity to get back at it, we’re just going to put in the work and get after it,” Powell said.