Many players in the Alliance of American Football are looking at the league as a second chance. For former Texas A&M defensive end Damontre Moore, it's more akin to his last chance to prove himself.

Brent Schrotenboer with USA Today was at last night's AAF game between Atlanta and San Diego and was one of several reporters to talk to Moore after the game. The AAF is intended as something of a developmental league and Schrotenboer pointed out that the players make a non-guaranteed minimum of $250,000 over three years. As a result, the players don't get the more luxurious living arrangements of their NFL brethren or perhaps even the higher quality living facilities that many Power Five conference schools now offer. Instead, they do what they can and several San Diego players are living at a Residence Inn. Moore himself is living with multiple teammates at a nearby apartment.

Moore also noted that there are no cold tubs or hot tubs that can be used to recover after practices or games as amenities are much more spartan than they are at the levels that the players came from. The crowds are much smaller too...last night's attendance was listed at over 20,000 fans at spacious Qualcomm Stadium but Schrotenboer noted that there were about half that many fans there. Moore routinely played in front of 80,000 fans in the Big 12 and Southeastern Conference and that's before A&M expanded Kyle Field to a capacity of over 100,000 people.

As a result, players like Moore are humbled and grateful. After getting released by the Dallas Cowboys in 2017, Moore worked 11 hour shifts in a Home Depot before going to the Oakland Raiders for two game and then being released by them as well.

Standing next to his locker after the game, Fleet defensive end Damontre Moore politely spoke with a small group of reporters for several minutes as he dressed. Then he made a special request to a reporter for USA TODAY Sports. He said he hoped the reporter would keep covering the league and to “give us some love.”

He's trying to make the most of his chances so far as he had nine quarterback pressures in his first game and then had five tackles and half a sack last night as the Fleet came from behind in the fourth quarter to win 24-12.

When Moore declared for the NFL Draft after his junior year in Aggieland, his future looked incredibly bright. Moore was a consensus first-team All-American after piling up 12.5 sacks. He was projected as a possible Top 5 overall pick in early mock drafts but disappointing workouts caused him to fall to the third round, where he was taken by the New York Giants.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound defender lasted three seasons with the club before being waived for a violation of team rules. Moore was out of football for much of the 2015 season before spending the final three games with Miami. He was signed by Seattle in the middle of the 2016 year but was injured after four games.Moore was picked up by the Dallas Cowboys in the spring of 2017 and it was thought that there was a real opportunity for him to make it with the Cowboys given their lack of defensive line depth at the time. However, he was suspended by the NFL for two games for violations of the NFL's substance abuse policies. He never got going in Dallas and was credited with seven tackles and four hurries in his brief time with the Cowboys before being let go after an off the field incident. Moore then played in three games for the Oakland Raiders in 2018 and had one tackle.