Arizona Outlaws
| Arizona Outlaws | |||
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 Current season | |||
| Established 2016 First season: 2016 Play in and headquartered in Outlaw Stadium Phoenix, Arizona | |||
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| League/conference affiliations | |||
Current uniform
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| Team colors | Red, Black, Silver | ||
| Personnel | |||
| General manager | Victoria Danvers (SwagSloth) | ||
| Head coach | Arbin Asipi | ||
| Team history | |||
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| Championships | |||
| League championships (4) | |||
| Conference championships (4) | |||
| Division championships (5) | |||
| Playoff appearances (9) | |||
| Home fields | |||
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The Arizona Outlaws are a professional American football franchise based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Outlaw currently compete in the National Simulation Football League (NSFL) as a member club of the league's American Simulation Football Conference (ASFC) which currently only has one division. The franchise was established in 2016 as one of the six original teams. They have a storied rivalry with the Orange County Otters, who they have faced in multiple ASFC championship games. The Outlaws won the first three NSFL Championships in a sequence of Ultimus Bowls, though the validity of the latter two would come into question in latter years. The Outlaws had one of the longest, if not the longest postseason drought, having missed the playoffs every season since 2023 till 2030. They broke the curse with a fourth Ultimus Bowl win in 2031 their first playoff berth, after 2022.
Contents
History of the Arizona Outlaws
In the beginning of the National Football Simulation League, Adwyer87 and Bushito were picked to create one of the founding teams. They named this team the Arizona Outlaws. During the inaugural draft the Outlaws were able to pick players that would be key to their upcoming seasons, such as King Bronko, Reg Mackworthy, Harrif Ernston and more. Shortly after the draft Bushito stepped down, and Adam2552 was hired as Co-GM. During the first ever season of the NSFL the Outlaws finished with a record of 9-5, tied with the Orange County Otters for first in the ASFC. Having won 3 out of 4 matchups with the Otters, the Outlaws were given home field advantage throughout the playoffs, which would prove to be a major advantage. The Outlaws blew out the Otters in the ASFC Championship Game, before going to the Ultimus to face the Colorado Yeti. They would blow out the Yeti in the first Ultimus Bowl as well, and were crowned the first ever champions of the NSFL.
In 2017, the NSFL would see an expansion draft, and while some teams would be hurt from that, the defending Ultimas champs would come out relatively unscathed only losing their 3rd best OT, backup SS, and 3rd string RB. Feeling the need to form an identity, King Bronko would be named the starting quarterback, as Vincent Draxel would be relegated to the practice squad, and Reg Mackworthy would be named starting running back with Jack Durden traded to the San Jose Sabercats along with their 1st round pick for 3 draft picks. With a trio of new wide receivers, C.A. Chess, Dustin Evans, and Mayran Jackson, the offensive identity was officially established to compliment a defense that was already defined. The Outlaws saw little competition during the season as they put together both the number one offense and defense and earned the top ASFC spot. The Orange County Otters would play a tight game in the conference championship game, but Arizona would win and steam roll over the Baltimore Hawks in the Ultimas, routing them 33-6.
the offseason leading into the 2018 season would be huge for the Outlaws. Seeing as they had three great receivers but lacking a little on defense, they decided to get ahead of the curve and trade Jackson away to Colorado in a deal that would bring in Philippe Carter and Big Bot now giving them two viable corners. They would fill the rest of their holes and add depth in the draft adding players like Charlie Law, Samuel Zhang, and Franklin Harris Jr.. Despite trading away Jackson, Bronko and Mackworthy had the Outlaws offense rolling so hard they managed to improve their points per game over the previous season by over 4. Not only that, but now with the added defense of Carter, Bot, Harris, and others they actually decreased the amount of points given up per game to under 12. Needless to say Arizona was in a league of their own blowing through the NSFL, almost going undefeated with their only blemish being an overtime loss to the Hawks. In the playoffs they would toss aside the Otters and setup a rematch against Baltimore, where they would not only beat them, but down right embarrass them, winning 49-12 and earning their third straight Ultimas Championship.
Riding the high of three straight Ultimas titles, Arizona decided to keep going all in in 2019 signing Josh Garden to a $33M contract including $23M in the first year. In doing such though, they lost their top cornerback, Carter. Trying to provide added support to their defense, Arizona traded away Bot for Blaster Blade in hopes they could generate enough pass rush to take off pressure from their cornerbacks. Samual Zhang would try and help the transition as he converted to cornerback after the signing of Garden. The defense would fall a bit some from their S3 status, but the new group of players came together enough to still be ranked as the top defense. Bronko would continue to develop into a dynamic leader for Arizona and with Garden leading the way for their receivers, the Outlaws would still win 12 games punching their ticket to the playoffs. After three straight Ultimas titles their run would be over though, as the Orange County Otters would shock the world and beat Arizona 27-9.
After four straight playoff appearances and three Ultimas titles, general manager Bogdan Podarok would step down and Adam Ess would be hired in his place starting in the 2020 season. In a shocking move, Ess would end up trading Garden to the Philadelphia Liberty for Budda Browning, Omar Wright, and 2 future draft picks. If that wasn't enough, Ess would get himself involved in a three-way trading Evans, Gustavsson, and 2 future picks, getting Alex Hayden, Fuego Wozy, and Damian West. The trades would be far from over for Ess as he would trade away 3 more draft picks for Wyatt Fulton and Andreas Waiters and then trade newly acquired Wozy for Jogn Floggity. All of these moves would take a toll on the team and despite putting up impressive offensive numbers once again with Bronko throwing for 5K yards and 44 touchdowns, the defense would fail to come together as a unit and drop from giving up just under 15 points a game to now giving up over 30 points a game. For the first time the Outlaws would fail to be ASFC Division Champions, but they'd still make the playoffs with an 8-6 record, however, the Otters would once again beat them in the conference championship game ending their season.
Following a disappointing season for the Outlaws, Ess would continue to make moves, shipping off Goodson to Baltimore, setting things up for an interesting 2021. Other than that the Outlaws would remain relatively unchanged. Fulton would end up disappearing only playing in 2 games, but that allowed for Jack Dwyer to step up recording 97 tackles and 5 sacks. Despite having one of the deepest receiving corps in the league and the continued development of King Bronko, the passing game actually took a significant step back, but that allowed Mackworthy to step up reaching the 1K yard mark. Despite the now improved run game the offense would drop to third overall in the NSFL and their record would reflect that as they once again went 8-6. In any other year that would probably be good enough for a playoff spot, but the Sabercats and Otters both would go 11-3, thus marking the first time in NSFL history that the Outlaws would fail to reach the playoffs.
With two firsts for Arizona, first time failing to reach the Ultimas and first time failing to reach the playoffs, ownership decided it was time to move on. Ess was relieved of his duties and in his place Ryan Pace was hired in 2022. Pace would continue the theme of trades as one of his first orders of business was to trade Law and Zhang to the New Orleans Second Line for Wallace Stone, Fresh Booter, and a 2nd round pick. Following that Arbin Asipi was traded to the Yellowknife Wraiths for Egor Medved and then Rob Anderson was dealt along with three draft picks for [[A.C. Hackett]. With the continuation of moving parts the Outlaws essentially made themselves worse in their secondary and receiving corp, while improving their linebacking corp. The results could be felt across the board as offensive production was down yet again and the defense struggled mightily to keep points off. The result of that would be a 5-9 record, but somehow still the Outlaws made the playoffs; a small victory for a terrible season and they would stand no chance to the 12-2 Otters in the playoffs.
It would be a one and done for Pace as John J. Johnson would be looked to to provide stability to the franchise in 2023. Despite the recent flurry of trades, Johnson wasn't shy to make his own as he traded away Browning to Baltimore for John Wachter and a 2nd round pick and then picking up Luke Tiernan from Yellowknife for some cap space. Through the draft Johnson picked up Viggo Squanch to add to an already crowded wide receiver room and Balthazar Crindy, giving them a tight end which they haven't had since Law's first couple seasons. The bad thing for Arizona though is that coming into the season everyone could see that Mackworthy and Bronko were starting to slow down a bit. Both would still put up some decent numbers, however, stringing together points was continuing to be hard. The Outlaws would fall to under 25 ppg while their defense was giving up over 27. The Outlaws would pull out some minor victories along the way, but once again would end up with a 5-9 record, this time missing the playoffs.
2024 would be the passing of the torch so to speak as Kevin Fitzpatrick was drafted and was handed full control of the team, leaving Bronko now a cheerleader of sorts. With basically the entire Outlaws roster remaining unchanged aside from Fitzpatrick and fellow rookie Bucky Barnes, the only noticeable difference was that most of their players were now showing their age, being one of the oldest teams in the NSFL. With a roolie quarterback and aging veterans, Arizona struggled in all phases dropping their offense to barely above 15 points a game while giving up over 30. The growing pains for Fitzpatrick were real as he threw 22 interceptions to 14 touchdowns. Arizona's record would reflect the struggles of their quarterback and they would only manage to win 3 games on the year.
The 2025 season would be another rather dormant year for the Outlaws in terms of player movement. Again most of the players remained the same and most looked ready to activate their AARP memberships. It would be yet a third straight year that Arizona opted to have no true cornerbacks on the team, instead drafting yet another young safety in Shannon Hobbs, giving them now four decent safeties. Fitzpatrick would step up his game only throwing 6 interceptions to 17 touchdowns in a limited role, and the Outlaws decided to heavily lean on Mackworthy's legs as he rushed for almost 1500 yards. The shift in offensive focus more towards the run game paid off a little as they were able to put more points on the board and their defense showed a little more capable in stopping other teams. Despite the improvements, they were minimal at most and they would only earn one more win, tying the Sabercats as the worst team in the ASFC.
Looking to help out Fitzpatrick, Johnson would dust off his trade machine and fire it up for the 2026 offseason as he made a trade with the Baltimore Hawks to bring back Browning to Arizona. In the draft Johnson decided to continue to neglect the corner position instead deciding to beef up the defensive line with Footballer Sackerman and Andrew Reese and also picking up linebacker Alexander Selich. Through the addition of Browning and development of Crindy and Squanch, the Outlaws actually put up impressive numbers, however, not having any true corners continued to hurt their defense as they gave up huge passing numbers and points. Selich would be a revelation putting up one of the best defensive years for a rookie ever, easily earning defensive rookie of the year and also earning some player of the year votes. The continued improvement would be felt as the Outlaws would improve to a 6-8 record coming in third place yet again in the ASFC.
As the Reg Mackworthy era in Arizona came to a close, 2027 was the start of a new time for the Outlaws. They didn't do a ton of flashy moves as they mostly opted to swap out some of their veteran depth for other veteran depth, but the one big move they did make was signing Trey Willie to give Fitzpatrick a new weapon to throw to. Aside from that, Slim Shady looked to be the lead back heading into preseason and Arbin Asipi Jr. would be taking on a flex back role taking the handoff sometimes, but primarily catching the ball. Still, despite not a lot of big roster changes there was a ton of questions needing to be answered. In preseason the team looked rather shaky, barely squeaking out the couple wins they did get and getting destroyed in the ones they lost. The Outlaws would go on to start the year with a 2-5 record and nobody really having any kind of idea what they Outlaws were on paper. The one big thing to note was that Andrew Reese was serving a four game suspension to start the year so the Outlaws were definitely out a big defensive cog in those games. Nevertheless the Outlaws were able to flip the script on the second half of the season though and would go on to win 5 of their last 7 games to finish an even 7-7. Despite missing the playoffs the team showed it was moving in the right direction.
2028 started with Arbin Asipi as the head coach. Arbin Asipi III switched from Fullback to Cornerback in the offseason, providing some sort of a boost in the Outlaws' defence. Other than that, the Outlaws entered the 2028 season with the same roster as they ended 2027. Their preseason was shaky once again, only winning one of the 4 games. But the first 8 weeks of the season told another story, showing that the Outlaws were here to challenge the Orange County Otters for the ASFC title and the Ultimus, having a 5-3 record. But they flopped in the last 6 weeks of the season, losing all games, by an average of 19.5 points, including a 58-13 blowout against the Liberty. They finished the season with a 5-9 record, last in the ASFC, but on the good side, they had the third pick in the 2029 draft.
2029 was the end of the Fitzpatrick era, and the time of the great exodus from Arizona, as most of last season's roster left. Selich, Crindy, Squanch, Asipi III, A.J. Robertson, Sackerman, and, as mentioned earlier, Fitzpatrick himself. However, Andrew Reese switched to Quarterback, and they brought in Emilia Rudd, Felix Hasselhoff, and Cooper Christmas. But they were awful. They started the season 0-10, only winning 2 games in Week 11 and Week 14, finishing with a 2-12 record, landing the #1 overall pick at the 2030 draft. They only managed to score more than 20 points three times, winning two games out of these three, and were held at or below 10 points 6 times. They also allowed more than 20 points in 13 of their 14 games, allowing 37.4 points on average.
2030 was more of the same, but it showed that the team was finally getting back on track. Aware of the imminent retirements of Borro Gore, Fonz Nuno, Hammer Jack, and Roman Stakowski, they hit the nail on the head in the draft, getting Brock Landers, Ricardo Morris, and Lucas Knight, investing in the future. They didn't make playoffs once again, despite having the best offence in their conference, and the third best offence in the league, but were in the hunt after 11 weeks, with a 6-5 record, showing promise for the future, but a 3-game losing streak to end the season eliminated them from playoff contention for another season. They were tough to beat at home, winning 4 of their 7 home games, and never losing by more than 10 points, apart from the 37-14 loss to the SaberCats in Week 14, but it was all said and done for the Outlaws. Arizona finished 3rd in the ASFC, with a 6-8 record.
2031 was the year the Outlaws finally broke through. Despite only having a 3rd round draft pick, and the retirements of Gore, Jack, Stakowski, and Nuno, the Outlaws were looking like a serious contender. Jammerson Irving was called up from his DSFL ventures, and the rest of last season's roster was still there. They were pretty much as mediocre as a team can be, finishing the regular season with a 7-6 record, 2nd in the ASFC, making a trip to the playoffs for the first time since 2022, mostly due to their amazing home record, 6 wins in 7 home games. All home games they won were by double-digit margins. But as mediocre as their regular season were, the Owtlaws were too much for their opposition in playoffs. 41-21 beatdown of the San Jose SaberCats at home, trip to California and 31-3 dismantling of the Orange County Otters, and then back home for a very close Ultimus Trophy win over the Philadelphia Liberty. beating them with a Andrew Reese TD pass to jeffrey Murphy, with only 90 seconds on the clock, putting them up 34-30. Philly didn't have time, and the Outlaws finished their Cinderella run with an Ultimus win.
The Outlaws entered the 2032 as the defending champions, with a mostly intact roster, apart from the massive addition of WR Vinny Valentine. A 6-win game streak from Week 3 till Week 8 was enough for the Outlaws to secure the first place in ASFC, with a 9-4 record, earning them a bye for the first round of the playoffs, and home field advantage through Ultimus. They had the best offence and the third best defence in the league, scoring 30.3 and allowing 20.6 points per game. They had the homefield advantage, and again winning 6 of their 7 regular season games, but they couldn't utilize it. They were upset by the Otters in the ASFC Championship Game, despite Reese throwing two touchdown passes. The final score was 37-20, and the dream of a repeat Ultimus win was no more. But the Outlaws were looking like perennial contenders now, instead of the joke they were a few seasons ago.
In 2033, they wanted to bounce back and win another Ultimus. The roster was left intact once again, but they were all poised. Another 9-4 season, but it was only enough for the 2nd place in ASFC, behind the reigning dynasty, who also were the defending champions, the Otters. Their averages were in the middle of the pack, but that mostly showed the higher level of the league. The Outlaws were as good as they were in their Ultimus winning season. They made the playoffs again, beating the Austin Copperheads in the ASFC Wildcard Game, setting up another Outlaws-Otters ASFC Championship Game, the third in three seasons, this time in Orange County. The game was close, but the Outlaws were outlasted, losing 21-16, missing out on the Ultimus once again.
"From perennial contenders to disappointment" is how you could describe the Outlaws' downfall in 2034. RB Slim Shady and WR Vinny Valentine left the team, and the Arizona offence was seriously downgraded. But they were on top form to begin the season. They swept the preseason and started the season with high hopes, after beating San Jose Sabercats 62-0 in week 1. But it was not to be. Six losses in the next seven games had the Outlaws with the abysmal 2-6 record, with playoff hopes looking good however, with how Austin was struggling. A three game winstreak from week 9 to week 11 only meant Arizona had to win one of the remaining two games to secure a playoff spot over the Snakes, whom Zona had already lost twice to. But the Outlaws collapsed. Two straight losses to end the season and a tie at 5-8 for the last playoff birth with Austin Copperheads. But, as mentioned earlier, Austin had beaten Zona twice, owning the tiebreaker and eliminating the once champs from playoff contention.
The Jay Cue Era
2035 was an important year for the Arizona Outlaws as they had finally called up young QB Jay Cue. The QB was able to win an Ultimini for the Portland Pythons in 2033 and looked to be a franchise QB. After playing in the DSFL for three years Jay Cue came in and shocked the NSFL with his incredible performance. The Arizona Outlaws looked great starting off the season 3-0 with victories over Baltimore Hawks, San Jose Sabercats and Orange County Otters. Unfortunately this lead to a rough stretch of games where the Arizona Outlaws would go 1-6 in the next seven games including two brutal losses against division rivals New Orleans Second Line 41-16 and Orange County Otters 46-17. The team ended the season strong going 3-0 to close it as they did to start it including an exciting shootout against Chicago Butchers 44-42. While they missed the playoffs this season they found something better than postseason success, a new franchise QB to build around. Jay Cue was able to bring home not only the ORotY award but was also able to bring home the QBotY award. Ending the season with the highest QB rating in the league as a rookie it was a new era in Arizona. The leagues leader in receptions and yards Jamemerson Irving the Arizona Outlaws were poised to be a threat for years to come.
2036 was not the year most expected out of the Arizona Outlaws, despite having a solid foundation on defense with CB Lucas Knight, LB Galf Wilf, and DTs Shane Masters and Pete Miller. The Arizona Outlaws had the worst defense in the league allowing 29 PPG, and did not pose a huge threat on offense either. Even with Jay Cue, star WR Saba Donut and Jammerson Irving leading the league in receptions again the Arizona Outlaws posted the worst offense in terms of YPG. Due to a lack of a running game, weather by play calling or by lack of ability the Arizona Outlaws averaged less than 80 yards per game rushin. It was a rough season for the Arizona Outlaws as they did not win a single game until week 5 followed by another victory in week 6. 2-4 is a rough start but we have seen teams come back from it in the past, the Arizona Outlaws were not one of these teams as they would not win another game until the final game of the season against Yellowknife Wraiths. While the Arizona Outlaws did not have a first round pick after a trade for CB Desmond Scarlett, the user behind him Unicorn would become the new GM for Arizona making the trade worth it.
2037 was a slight improvement for Arizona, starting two young rookie tackles in Calvin Golladay and Bruce Buckley the Arizona Outlaws looked to improve their running game with rookie RB Baby Yoda. This year added two new teams into the league in the Honolulu Hahalua and the Sarasota Sailfish making Arizona call up more rookies than usual. Starting the season off against the Austin Copperheads the game would end in a tie, interesting but not the most exciting thing for Arizona. Arizona would go on to lose their next two games before their first win against the new expansion team Honolulu Hahalua. They would then win two and lose two in their next four games before finishing the final 5 games 1-4. A 4-8-1 record was a slight improvement and while they lead the league in passing offense, the defense suffered greatly. Allowing the most yards on the ground and through the air, Arizona knew they had solid young players but having to call up three rookie CBs really hurt the team. Despite the lost season there were some positive things, rookie RB Baby Yoda had almost 1,000 yards on the ground and star WR Saba Donut had nearly 1,200 yards through the air. QB Jay Cue lead the league in passing yards but regressed slightly from previous years throwing for only 15 TDs with 8 Ints. The team had a solid young core with a franchise QB in place and looked towards the future by taking LB Stanislaw Koniecpolski to help solidify the defense that was the worst in the league.
2038 is a bit of a heart breaking season for Arizona. The defense stepped up tremendously throughout the season becoming best in the conference and third in the league in terms of PPG. Allowing the second least yards among all defenses this looked like it would be Arizona's year despite starting 1-3 in some heart breaking losses. 2 of those losses came by one possession and that would be a theme for Arizona. With the 1-3 start Arizona was not defeated and went 3-1 in their next 4, sitting at a cross roads at 4-4 with some dominating wins Arizona could've gone either way throughout the rest of the season. They had their ups and downs, they had three huge wins over Philadelphia Liberty (34-13), Yellowknife Wraiths (46-13),and San Jose Sabercats (40-3). While suffering heart breaking losses against New Orleans Second Line (40-37), and Austin Copperheads (16-15). The loss against the ISFL is what hurt Arizona the most, as they had lost to them in week 4 in another close game (33-29). Due to ending the season at 8-8, tied with Austin Copperheads and being swept by them they were not able to make the playoffs. Some interesting things about Arizona in 2038 is that if you flip games that were decided by one possession the Arizona Outlaws end the season at 12-4 which is good enough for the first seed in the conference despite still being swept by the Orange County Otters in this scenario. Another interesting thing is if the Outlaws and split the series with Austin Copperheads even if they would have a tied record they would have had to rely on point differential for the playoffs. Which Arizona had a PD of +122, the best in the conference. It was truly a heart breaking season for the Arizona Outlaws, despite Jay Cue have another solid season, throwing for almost 4,000 yards. Having Saba Donut eclipse 1,400 receiving yards and having 12 touchdowns and RB Baby Yoda put up almost 1,200 yards with 10 TDs it just wasn't enough. Arizona would look to make the playoffs in the following year with their promising core.
In 2039, the goal was to keep quarterback Jay Cue surrounded with young talent so that the star quarterback could continue to compete for an Ultimus. After a .500 record in 2038 and missing the playoffs due to a tiebreaker with Austin Copperheads. Resigning RB Zed Keppler after losing RB Baby Yoda, star TE Heath Evans, upcoming WR Thomas Passmann top lineman Bruce Buckley while drafting Gunner Thorbjornsson. They reloaded for another run, however this season started with ups and downs. In the first game against the Honolulu Hahalua they only managed to score one touchdown. Putting up over 300 yards of total offense the team should have won the game on paper, but QB Jay Cue ended the game with 3 interceptions and no touchdowns in the air. The team would go on to be 2-4 by week six with some devastating losses, such as the 45-10 stomping by the hands of defending champions Yellowknife Wraiths. Something clicked in those 4 loses for QB Jay Cue as he had a feeling they would turn things around in Arizona. Taking to twitter to ask the fans how many interceptions he would throw the results motivated him against the red hot Colorado Yeti where they would go on to destroy them 42-9. With Jay Cue threw for three touchdowns and rushing for one as well. Things were looking up in Arizona as the outlaws went on to win their next 5 games including some tight wins and another blowout win against the Chicago Butchers 47-24. The final 5 games of the season had the Outlaws going 2-3 with a season ending victory against the Orange County Otters 30-22, despite this victory the ASFC was a strange conference in 2039 as the Arizona Outlaws, Orange County Otters, San Jose Sabercats, and New Orleans Second Line would all end the season 9-7. Despite that last victory against Orange County Otters the Arizona Outlaws were 4-6 in their conference records missing the playoffs by way of tie breaker.
2040 was the year that the Jay Cue curse seemed to finally break, Arizona went 9-7 and placed second in the ASFC to make the playoffs with homefield advantage in the first round. Arizona stopped relying on Cue as much this season and posted the best rushing attack in the league, with rookie running back Gunner Thorbjornsson leading the way along with trading for former league MVP and long time Yellowknife Wraiths Mathias Hanyadi the Arizona Outlaws backfield was no joke. Alongside a dominant rushing game the Arizona Outlaws defense was nothing to scoff at. The best pass defense in the league along with the 5th best rushing defense allowed Arizona to choke most teams out with time of possession being in their favor. Starting 1-3 with their only victory coming off the new expansion team New York Silverbacks Arizona quickly got it together going 3-1 in their next 4 games. Sitting at .500 Arizona knew they had the team to make the playoffs. With some of the best players in the league the Arizona Outlaws put on a show against Mathias Hanyadi's previous team Yellowknife Wraiths scoring 55 points and holding them to just 17. It was at this moment the league knew that the Arizona Outlaws was a force to be reckoned with. Winning their final two games again Honolulu Hahalua and New Orleans Second Line to not only play spoiler but also take the second seed. Securing homefield advantage was huge for the Arizona Outlaws as they would play host to the third seeded San Jose Sabercats defending champs. Despite it being's Jay Cue's first time in the playoffs, they were able to bring the defending champs to overtime. While San Jose Sabercats quarterback Monterey Jack threw an interception early Arizona Outlaws was unable to capitalize, as Jay Cue threw an interception that resulted in a walk off touchdown by San Jose Sabercats cornerback Tyron Brackenridge. Cue's cue was said by many Arizona fan's on that day. After the game it was announced by Jay Cue that the next season would be his last as he chose to stay with the Arizona Outlaws and try one last run to get a ring for the franchise. Later franchise cornerback Zamir Kehla who helped set the team up for the best pass defense in the league would opt out of his contract. Leaving the franchise and ultimately retiring from the league. Along with the loss of Heath Evans Arizona would have some holes to fill for 2041.
2041 would begin with some changes in the front office as long time GM Unicorn would step down, being replaced by his Co-GM Z-Whiz, who appointed Crunk to be his Co-GM. These two new GMs looked to get off to a good start in their first draft, with a multitude of picks, including Safety Moe Skeeter, who would never play a snap for the Outlaws, leaving for the Austin Copperheads in the offseason prior to 2044, aswell as linebacker Logan Sarrasin and Tight End Tom Teboat. The start to the regular season would not be a good one either for the new GMs, as they lost to the Orange County Otters in a 45-42 shootout, thanks to a walk off field goal from the OCO kicker. They would lose again in weeks 2 & 3 before picking up their first win of the season in Week 4, in a blowout, 38-16 victory over the previous seasons champions. This win did not do much to steady the ship however as they managed to win just 2 more games by the halfway point in the season, sitting at 3-5 in Week 8. The Outlaws did not let their poor form dampen their spirits though, as they went on a strong run of form, winning 6 of their last 8 games, losing only to the New York Silverbacks and Orange County Otters in that timespan. After Week 16 the Outlaws thought they had done enough to secure a playoff berth, however Jay Cues final season under center came to a brutal ending, as in a cruel twist the Outlaws missed out on the playoffs, their 9-7 record being good only for 5th in the division, in a 5 way tie between ASFC teams. It would be a bittersweet ending for Jay Cue, as he did manage to take home OPoTY at the postseason awards show, this award not doing much to soften the blow of what happened during the season.
Post Cue - The Cortez Era
2042 would mean big changes for the Outlaws, as franchise legend Jay Cue would step away from his role as Gunslinger, allowing for rookie Charlamagne Cortez to take the helm. They would look to build a good core around Cortez in that seasons' draft, drafting young talents such as Fergus Callaghan Jr. and Cade York. However the regular season once again began poorly for Arizona as they lost by 3 points to the San Jose Sabercats in the opening week and then by 1 point the following week to the Austin Copperheads. This did not faze the Outlaws however as the team then proceeded to go on an emphatic 9 game winning streak, which would eventually come to an end in Week 12 at the hands of the Chicago Butchers. The Outlaws then won two and lost two of their final four games. The Outlaws had done enough for the number 2 seed in the division with their 11-5 record, missing out on the first seed by a draw. However despite a new QB in charge for the Outlaws, their playoff form from the past few seasons would not change much, as they were stunned in the first round by the New Orleans Second Line, losing 41-21 with Cortez throwing three interceptions. Their would be some more positives to take from the season for the rookie QB, as he scooped ORoTY at the end of season awards show. This award did not mean much to him in the grand scheme of things, as the franchise had their sights firmly set on a long awaited Ultimus.
As the Outlaws went into 2043 with their hearts set on winning the big trophy they made one big addition in the draft, using their only pick in the first three rounds on Defensive End Glenn Smart. In what now seemed to be a regular occurrence for the Outlaws, their season began poorly as they lost by 4 points in week 1 to the Honolulu Hahalua and then 7 points in week 2 to the Austin Copperheads. They would then proceed to go on a powerful run of form, winning all their games until they lost again to the Honolulu in week 12, and suffered their 4th and final loss in week 13, by a point at the hands of the Philadelphia Liberty. This time, the Outlaws 12-4 record would be good enough for the first seed in their division, giving them a bye straight into the conference championship. This would be as far as they would go in the season unfortunately, as they lost a close Conference Championship game to the Austin Coppperheads, 16-13. Once again the Arizona players would experience success in terms of awards, as Running Back Tatsu Nakamura was crowned MVP, becoming the first non-quarterback MVP since Mathias Hanyadi five seasons prior.
After once again falling out of the playoffs prematurely, the Outlaws went into 2044 looking to reclaim the Ultimus trophy, which hadn't been in Arizona in 13 seasons, beginning these efforts by drafting linebacker Marcus Jones and running back Fitted Cuddles in the draft prior to the seasons start. The Outlaws then began the regular season strong too, picking up wins in each of the first 5 weeks by a margin of 76 points, before finally losing to the New Orleans Second Line in Week 6 and then again to the Berlin Fire Salamanders in the following week. A win in week 8 against the Liberty meant the Outlaws were sitting at 5-3 come the halfway mark of the season. The Outlaws would then lose 3 of their next 5 by week 13, before winning out the rest of their games in the season, meaning they finished with a record of 11-5, buying them the top seed in the ASFC and a bye through the divisional round of the playoffs. This would be as far as they would get however as they were bested by the New York Silverbacks in the conference championships, with 3 turnovers from Cortez in the first quarter digging too big of a hole for the team as they would go on to lose 34-27. Running back Tatsu Nakamura once again saw awards success, winning OPoTY, but the Outlaws were still without that lucrative ring.
Season-by-season records
| Season | Regular Season Record | Post Season Record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | W | L | |||
| 2016 | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2017 | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2018 | 13 | 1 | 0 | .929 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2019 | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2020 | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2021 | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2022 | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2023 | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2024 | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2025 | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2026 | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2027 | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2028 | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2029 | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2030 | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2031 | 7 | 6 | 0 | .538 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2032 | 9 | 4 | 0 | .692 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2033 | 9 | 4 | 0 | .692 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2034 | 5 | 8 | 0 | .385 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2035 | 7 | 6 | 0 | .538 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2036 | 3 | 10 | 0 | .231 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2037 | 4 | 8 | 0 | .346 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2038 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2039 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2040 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2041 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2042 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2043 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2044 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Total | 218 | 194 | 0 | .529 | 11 | 14 | ||
Current roster
Arizona Outlaws roster
| |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
DSFL Send-downs
Rookies in italics
Roster updated June 6th, 2021 | ||||||
Current staff
Arizona Outlaw staff
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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References
