Free Agency Moves Coming Fast for Nashville Kats in 2026

The Nashville Kats have already made some noise during free agency by re-signing a chunk of their key contributors from the 2025 season. This included quarterback Tyler Kulka who engineered a great first season in arena football, as well as some of his trusted running mates on offense. Offensive Linemen Derrick Ziegler and Brey Walker, and Wide Receiver Jordan Gandy also chose to return.

They also brought back Defensive Back Amos Coleman, as well as Defensive Linemen Ezrah Thibodeaux, and Roderick Perry II. They aren’t done yet, and no one should be surprised that Nashville is placing a premium on retaining their own after falling just 3 points shy of beating Albany in the Championship Game.

Table of Contents

1 Ja’Quan Artis Returns

Ja’Quan Artis Returns

Darren Arbet and company are planning to run it back for the 2026 season, and with that has come another key re-signing in Ja’Quan Artis. Artis was one of the best pass rushers on the Kats toward the end of the year despite playing in just 4 games, Artis logged 3 sacks. The former IFL sack and tackle for a loss leader, Artis has bounced back and forth from the indoor ranks to the outdoors with stints in the XFL, and CFL so far in his career. He is exactly the type of player that the Kats have become known for signing.

Artis stands 6’2 255 pounds, and in the AF1 he is the type of player who can take snaps at defensive end and linebacker depending on the situation. He also brings Championship Pedigree having been named the MVP of the IFL Championship in 2022 with the Northern Arizona Wranglers. He also won IFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

During his career Artis has continuously produced pressure regardless of where he has played. As a rookie he produced 19.5 tackles for a loss, and 12.5 sacks. In 2023 he was drafted by the XFL, but ultimately let go before the season. This did not stop him from finding interest outdoors once again. Edmonton called him up to come try out the CFL as well. Ironically when Edmonton signed Artis, they released a man Kats’ fans should know well wide receiver Nih’Jer Jackson.

Ultimately Artis was let go by Edmonton as well, landing back where it began for him in Northern Arizona. In 2023, Artis had the one “down” season of his career playing in 9 games producing 3 tackles for a loss, and 1.5 sacks after rejoining the team midseason. In 2024 he moved on to the San Diego Strikeforce a team that had made some big time moves in an attempt to compete for a championship.

He again had a stand out season in 2024 producing 19 tackles for a loss and 7.0 sacks. Putting his totals at 41.5 tackles for a loss, and 21 sacks in 41 games so far. This mirrors what he was able to do in college as well where he won 2019 D2CCA Defensive Player of the Year and collected a school record 29 sacks, along with 23 tackles for a loss.

In 2025 he would play for both the Quad City Steamwheelers, and the Nashville Kats. He would play in 4 games for Quad City collecting 11.5 tackles, including 1.5 for a loss. With Artis on the field, both teams were among the best in their respective leagues. Artis returns to continue making a mark and terrorizing quarterbacks in the AF1.

First Free Agent of the 2026 Season

Todd Simmons, Wide Receiver/Kick Returner

If the Kats are intending to improve upon their 2025 season, this inevitably will include at least a handful of new faces joining the team. We have the first unrestricted free agent signing of the 2026 season for the Kats, and it is none-other than well traveled wide receiver Todd Simmons. Simmons has been all over the country during his professional career.

Simmons was a member of the 2023 NFL Draft Class after attending Wagner and the University of Dubuque. Simmons would end up going unselected in the draft process before earning mini-camp invites from the Bears and Raiders. Rookie mini-camps came and went without a contract offer coming for Simmons, instead he was brought in for the first time by the Arlington Renegades in June of 2023 for the 2024 season. However the USFL and XFL merger ended up causing 8 teams to be contracted, resulting in many talented players being left without a place to play.

This led Simmons to sign with the Harrisburg Stampede of the American Indoor Football League for the 2024 season. He would go on to have a great year producing 12 touchdowns in just 8 games. Simmons would go on to find more NFL and UFL interest following this performance. First latching on with the Ravens as depth at wide receiver and kick returner for training camp. Unfortunately the Ravens ultimately let him go at the cut down, and he would sign a contract for the 2025 UFL Season returning to Arlington once again. However Simmons made an interesting move and signed a contract to play for the Wheeling Miners in 2025.

Different season, different league, same results. Simmons Jr. again wound up the odd man out on a talented Arlington team. After being let go by the Renegades, Simmons Jr. did not immediately sign with the Miners, and instead decided to attend the end of training camp with the eventual IFL champion Vegas Knighthawks. The Knighthawks are stacked at wide receiver, and joining the team late in free agency proved to be a challenge for Simmons Jr. He was released and explored his options to continue playing as the AF1, and NAL were already midseason.

He would go on to join the Jersey Bearcats for the second time. Having played with the Bearcats briefly in 2024, after a stint with the Maryland War Eagles where Simmons played some quarterback. He instantly became the top target for Jersey, and helped lead them back to a Championship appearance where they fell short on a controversial play where the refs missed an additional player on the field before the snap.

Simmons has made mention of potentially moving to defense if his career at wide receiver did not bring him the interest he had hoped. Now joining the AF1, we could potentially see Simmons playing in all three phases of the game. A fan favorite among the media members that cover spring football, TS2 could have found a home in Nashville. Can he help make an impact in 2026 and appear on a third roster that ended their season in the Championship game in just three seasons?

Isaiah Foote, Center/Guard

Isaiah Foote is an offensive lineman who graduated from Western Illinois. Following his college career he earned the Wes Stevens Offensive Lineman of the Year. He garnered some professional level interest after a strong performance at his pro day. He followed this up with an appearance at the Dream Bowl, and The Unity Beach Bowl.

@isaiahfoote66 pro day results. He had an outstanding workout in front of several NFL teams and now awaits the NFL draft and graduation from Western Illinois this May! He thanks the Cav family and beyond for their well wishes and support! #INAM #1heart1beat1soul" pic.twitter.com/CLUdUYtLB1
— Calvert Football (@CalvertFootball) March 27, 2025

During the 2024 season the Corpus Christi Tritons had a rather tough season. Starting off hot with a 3-0 record before the wheels began to fall off. The ownership group quickly got in over their heads, and many of the players left the team. Shortly after this began someone stepped in and stabilized the team. After this point the team was forced to retool on the fly.

One of the players they found through this retooling process was Isiah Foote. Foote went on to start several games for the Tritons in 2024. He played well enough to garner attention from other teams and leagues. He would go on to finish out the season with the Tucson Sugar Skulls. Now he will take his talents to Nashville and compete for a starting role to protect quarterback Tyler Kulka.

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