When Kurt Warner asked NFL teams this week to give his son E.J. a chance, he was pleading for his younger boy. His older son, Kade Warner, already lived that road, and his story shows how many turns it can take.
E.J., a quarterback out of Fresno State, went undrafted in April 2026 and tried out at the Denver Broncos’ rookie minicamp in May without getting a contract, according to EssentiallySports. In a post on X reported on November 10, Kurt wrote that his son “deserves at least that chance.”
A walk-on who never had a scholarship
Kade started his college career at Nebraska in 2017 as a walk-on, broke his hand three days into his first fall practice and still worked his way into the starting lineup and, later, a captaincy. He transferred to Kansas State for his last two seasons and saved his best for the end: 46 catches, 456 yards and five touchdowns in 2022, per Sports Illustrated.
Then the 2023 NFL draft came and went without his name.
The night in Tampa that came full circle
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Kade as an undrafted free agent. His first preseason game, in August 2023, was against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Raymond James Stadium, the same stadium and the same opponent as Kurt’s last Super Bowl, Super Bowl XLIII in February 2009. Kade had watched that one from the stands at 10 years old, ESPN reported.
He caught one pass for 10 yards that night. “You can’t make this stuff up,” Kurt wrote on social media, as Fox News reported.
The story didn’t get its Hollywood ending. Tampa Bay waived Kade on August 28, 2023, before the regular season began.
From spring football to the sideline
Kade kept going. He signed with the XFL’s Houston Roughnecks in December 2023 and, after the XFL and USFL merged into the UFL, landed with the San Antonio Brahmas. They cut him in March 2024, brought him back in May and had him active for the UFL championship game that June. He was waived again that August.
In 2025 he traded cleats for a whistle. Quincy University, a Division II school in Illinois, hired him as offensive coordinator, FootballScoop reported, and the school’s staff page now lists him in his second season there, also coaching quarterbacks.
That detour may matter for his brother. In October, the St. Louis Battlehawks asked fans on X whether they’d like to see E.J. in the 2027 UFL Draft, and Kurt answered that he would. It’s the same league that gave Kade his last shot as a player.
Keep an eye on the Battlehawks, because the next Warner chapter could start in St. Louis.
