Picture this: a rookie wide receiver, number 83 in Kirk Cousins‘ Falcons red and black, lined up against NFL corners. Just months earlier, he was taking snaps as a Division II quarterback, carving up defenses on the ground. It’s the kind of position switch that makes even the boldest ‘Madden franchise mode’ player hesitate. That was Jared Bernhardt’s reality in 2022 – an athlete so versatile he seemed to operate on ‘cheat codes’.
Now, after a journey weaving through collegiate lacrosse immortality, a D-II football national title, and a fleeting NFL moment, Bernhardt’s cheat code is activating a different arena. The Falcons receiver is trading the gridiron for the turf, jumping ship to debut in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) this June.
Former #Falcons WR Jared Bernhardt will pursue a career in the Premier Lacrosse League, per @FieldYates.
Bernhardt is expected to make his debut in June. pic.twitter.com/z9BGXTWvqU
— Rise Up Walker (@RiseUpReader) May 30, 2025
It’s a pivot only a rare breed of athlete could make look almost natural. ‘Jared Bernhardt is a remarkable multi-sport athlete,’ the narrative consistently reads, a simple statement belying the sheer audacity of his career path. His Falcons tenure, though brief, had its flashes. Remember that 2022 preseason?
Rookie jitters? Not for Bernhardt. He hauled in a game-winning touchdown pass against the Lions in his very first NFL exhibition, a clutch play hinting at potential. He clawed his way onto the Falcons’ initial 53-man roster – a stunning feat for a guy who’d been playing quarterback at Ferris State just a year prior. But the NFL, like a brutal ‘Cover Zero blitz,’ comes fast. He appeared in just one regular-season game before medical reasons forced him off the field, retiring in 2023. His NFL stat line? A quiet whisper: 1 game played, 0 receptions.
The stick calls him home after bidding off Kirk Cousins
But the NFL’s brutal stopwatch did not define Jared Bernhardt’s story. Years earlier, he forged his athletic soul on the lacrosse field at the University of Maryland. There, he wasn’t just good; he was historic. Think Jerry Rice-level dominance, but with a long pole and a mesh pocket. His 2021 senior season was pure video-game stuff: 71 goals, 99 points – single-season program records that still stand.
He owns the Terps’ career marks too: a staggering 202 goals and 290 points. The crown jewel? The Tewaaraton Award in 2021, lacrosse’s Heisman, recognizing him as the nation’s absolute best. This wasn’t just racking up stats; it was artistry. Iconic moments like his airborne NCAA Tournament goal in 2019 or the overtime winner against Ohio State that same year – his 100th career goal – weren’t just plays; they were brushstrokes on a masterpiece. He was a four-time All-American and left College Park as a 2017 NCAA Champion freshman and a living legend.
The football detour at Ferris State in 2021, leading them to an undefeated 14-0 season and a D-II National Championship while earning GLIAC Player of the Year (rushing for 1,421 yards and 26 TDs!), was a powerful tribute to his late father and a testament to his raw athleticism. It earned him that Falcons shot. But the pull of the stick, the culture he helped build at Maryland, and the family legacy (his brothers Jake and Jesse are on the Terps’ coaching staff, where Jared returned as Director of Player Development in 2023) proved stronger than the siren call of Sundays.
Now, the Chaos Lacrosse Club, which drafted him 19th overall in the 2021 PLL College Draft before his football sojourn, finally gets their man. While his rights lapsed, making him a PLL free agent, the league confirmed his signing and June debut. It’s a homecoming of sorts. Also, trading playbooks for two-point arcs and NFL play clocks for the fluid, high-scoring poetry of pro field lacrosse. He joins a growing list of athletes crossing the football-lacrosse divide. Hence, following in the footsteps of guys like two-time Super Bowl champ Chris Hogan.
Jared Bernhardt’s journey reads like an epic sports odyssey: from lacrosse prodigy to small-school QB sensation, to NFL hopeful, back to mentor. And now, finally, to the professional field where his legend began. It’s not a jump ship; it’s a return voyage. The Falcons might have seen a project receiver; the PLL is getting a proven, Tewaaraton-winning artist. The turf in June awaits his next masterpiece.
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