The Michigan Panthers signed defensive end Mika Tafua and linebacker De’Gabriel Floyd on Sunday night.
Mika Tafua is six foot three and weighs 250 pounds. The 27-year-old from Laie, Hawaii, made three tackles (2 solo, 1 assist), one sack, one quarterback hit, and one pass breakup in three preseason games for the Dallas Cowboys in 2022. The Cowboys signed Tafua as an undrafted free agent in 2022. After Dallas, Tafua spent time with the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad.
Collegiately Tafua played four seasons at Utah (2018-21) making 133 tackles (73 solo, 60 assists), 32 tackles for loss, 17.5 sacks, nine pass breakups, three forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, and one touchdown in 44 games for the Utes. He was named He was named First Team All-PAC 12 in 2021.
De’Gabriel Floyd is six foot three and weighs 235 pounds. The 24-year-old from Westlake Village, California, began his collegiate career at Texas in 2019 but was forced to retire for medical reasons. He began a comeback in 2022 at Alabama A&M making 16 tackles (6 solo, 10 assists) and one pass breakup in nine games for the Bulldogs.
Next, Floyd transferred to East Los Angeles Community College in 2023 making 37 tackles, 22 solo, 15 assists), one interception, and four pass breakups in nine games for the Huskies. Floyd had initially committed to play at Charlotte before signing a contract with the Panthers.
