After three seasons with the Carolina Panthers, Deonte Brown joined the Birmingham Stallions last season with the goal to show on new film that he belonged in the NFL.

But as a starter at guard in the opening game of the 2024 season, Brown sustained an ankle injury. And that gave him a new goal: To get back on the field before the end of the campaign.

Brown missed the remainder of the regular season, but he played in the Stallions’ two victories in the postseason as Birmingham won the United Football League’s inaugural championship.

“It was something that I was really pushing for,” Brown said, “to be back with the team and be back in the locker room, be back in the atmosphere, so I was very proud that I accomplished that goal.”

Returning to the Stallions for 2025, Brown has embraced his original 2024 goal again.

“I’m just blessed to have another opportunity to play the game that I love,” Brown said. “This is something I’ve been really, really good at, and just to have another chance at it at any level is a blessing for me. Ultimately, I want to get back to the NFL. That’s my ultimate goal. But I’m definitely blessed and thankful to have this opportunity.”

With Birmingham, Brown is playing back in his home state. A two-time All-State selection for Austin High School, Brown won the Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 6A Lineman of the Year Award for the 2015 season.

Brown said what he learned in Decatur – “just never quitting and being comfortable being uncomfortable, learning how to face adversity head-on” – had served him well on the road to pro football, a journey that included five seasons at Alabama, capped by the Crimson Tide’s 52-24 victory over Ohio State in the CFP national-championship game for the 2020 season.

“Alabama helped me mentally, technically,” Brown said. “I feel like I went to Alabama just as a flat mold, and they crafted me into the player I was meant to be. I learned a lot more about the nuances of the game, not just, ‘Go hit that person. Step this way, step that way,’ but the reason why I needed to step this way or step that way, or in pass blocking, having my hand up this way or that way. Alabama helped me become more of a student of the game.”

Working with Birmingham in training camp, Brown said he’d put last season’s injury behind him.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Brown said. “I’m feeling strong. Definitely got my mobility back. I’m feeling good overall.”

The Stallions start their season against the DC Defenders at 2 p.m. CDT March 30 at Audi Field in Washington.

Brown expects Birmingham to field a “fast, hard-hitting, smart team” as the Stallions pursue their fourth consecutive league championship. Before winning last year’s UFL crown, Birmingham captured the USFL championships for the 2022 and 2023 campaigns.

“We’re trying to win one game at a time,” Brown said. “That’s the ultimate goal is to win every game this week and win the championship. But right now we’re just focused on next-day mentality.”

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.