Jacob Saylors finished second in rushing in the UFL and scored five touchdowns this past season. (Photo: Thomas Grove)

St. Louis Battlehawks running back Jacob Saylors signed an NFL contract this week with the New York Giants, after working out for the club last week.

Saylors, who led the Battlehawks and finished second in the entire United Football League with 460 rushing yards and scored eight touchdowns for a club that won its regular season division title, before losing in the XFL Conference championship game, was playing his first season of spring football after going undrafted by the NFL in 2023.

Saylors earned All-UFL honors following his performance with the Battlehawks and will be in New York for training camp with the Giants in July.

The 5-foot-10, 200-pounder from East Tennessee State spent some time on the Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons rosters last fall, but did not play in any games, mostly due to an injury.

After showing UFL scouts he had healed from his injury, Saylors signed with the Battlehawks and had a dynamite season. The Giants are a club that is looking for major help at the running back spot, after losing longtime starter Saquon Barkley, who signed with the rival Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent this winter.

New York picked up former Chicago Bears RB Devin Singletary to be its likely new starter, but the club is still in the market for potential backups. That’s where Saylors comes in. He showed in his time with St. Louis that he could handle the job of being somebody’s primary ballcarrier in the NFL.