Pittsburgh Maulers Sign Ex-JMU QB Vad Lee, Waive Josh Love

Almost halfway through the 10-game season, the Pittsburgh Maulers are shaking up their quarterback room, adding free agent Vad Lee and waiving Josh Love.

The Maulers’ offense has stalled late in games and has prevented the team from earning a win in four opportunities. The only winless club in the reborn USFL, the Maulers have relied on former Richmond quarterback Kyle Lauletta and San Jose State standout Love.

Pittsburgh waived Love this week and was then claimed by the Michigan Panthers on Tuesday night. Love joins former Michigan signal-caller Shea Patterson and NFL first-round pick Paxton Lynch as the third quarterback on the Panthers’ roster.

After moving on from Love, Pittsburgh has signed former James Madison quarterback Lee to the active roster. Lee, 29, played two seasons at Georgia Tech before transferring to James Madison for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. 

He was a dominant force for JMU, earning AP Third Team All-American honors in 2014 and STATS FCS Third Team All-American in 2015. Lee won the Bill Dudly award in back-to-back years honoring Virginia’s best Division I player. Lee is also the author of the book “Purpose Over Position” and has a website dedicated to helping athletes. 

Lee provides a change of pace as a scrambling quarterback compared to Lauletta. If Lauletta continues to struggle, Lee could see early playing time sooner rather than later. 

The Maulers released also cornerback Prince Robinson and wide receiver Kenneth Walker III on Tuesday in more recent roster updates.

Pittsburgh will play the 1-3 Houston Gamblers on Sunday at 4 p.m. on FOX. Houston is a 5.5-point favorite.