He troubles in Cincinnati, he said stemmed from playing for a bad team without veteran leadership.

"I never really had a mentor," he said. "Reggie Wayne had Marvin Harrison, Randy Moss had Cris Carter, Torry Holt had Isaac Bruce. Those guys had people to look up to. When I got to Cincinnati, it was just me. I had Darnay Scott, but first year he got hurt so now I'm just going out there playing off athletic ability. I'm not making any excuses because I know I had to learn, but it was hard."

Arthroscopic knee surgery, followed by a cracked shin bone and an infection kept him out of all but four games in 2004. Cincinnati released him in the 2005 preseason and he ended up in Seattle where he remained hobbled with injuries.

His only notable contribution with the Seahawks was returning punts in their Super Bowl loss to the Steelers and they cut ties with him before the 2006 regular season began.

Warrick said the injuries are behind him now, but that NFL teams don't want to "take a chance on him" because of past problems. He's worked out consistently since his release from the Seahawks and said he's in good shape.

After sitting out for so long, the call from the All American Football League was just what he needed. Waiting day after day for a phone call from an NFL team that never came got frustrating and he sometimes wondered if he should give up.

The past two years have taught him patience. He's hungry to play again and believes this league could be a good change for him.

"I'm going to come over here and give it a try and I'm going to make the best of it," he said. "You never know, I might come over here and enjoy this league better than the NFL."

As a child, his goal was to play in the NFL. Though he wants another chance more than anything, this son of a preacher said he is blessed to have made it. If he doesn't get back, he can't complain because he knows he was lucky to have played at all.

"I just had to sit back and look at everything that I've done in my life and say that I accomplished my goal," he said. "I didn't do what people expected me to do in the NFL. No, I didn't go out there and have Randy Moss numbers, but I thank God I did make it."

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