Pirates Add Two New Players to Defense During Bye Week
May 23, 2025 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Massachusetts Pirates News Release
LOWELL, MA - The Massachusetts Pirates have signed DJ Daniel. This will be the fifth professional league for the 6'1", 185 lb. defensive back. Most recently, Daniel was in camp with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League.
Daniel started his professional career as an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League in 2021. The following year, he went to camp with the New England Patriots. That same year, he signed with the New Jersey Generals of the USFL. Over the next two seasons, Daniel would play in 21 games. In 2023, he was an All-USFL selection as he started all ten games for the Generals with 30 tackles, including one for a loss. He defended six passes and had three interceptions. In 2024, Daniel played in six games for the Memphis Showboats in the UFL. He started three games, had 15 tackles with one interception and two passes defended.
The Griffin, GA native caught the attention of NFL scouts after playing in the Senior Bowl following a two-year career at the University of Georgia. In 21 games from 2019-2020 with the Dawgs, Daniel had 51 tackles, three tackles for a loss, and defended nine passes. He began his collegiate career at Georgia Military College, where he played from 2017 through 2018. In 19 games, he had five interceptions and 36 tackles.
The Pirates have also signed defensive lineman Michael Mason. The 6'3", 280 lb. former undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League was most recently in camp with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League before being released on May 14.
Last season, Mason went to camp with the Chargers and made three tackles in preseason games.
Mason, who hails from Florence, SC, played as a graduate student at Coastal Carolina in 2023. An All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention selection, Mason started 13 games, making 67 tackles with 10.5 for a loss with seven sacks and one quarterback hurry. He also forced one fumble while recovering another. His signature game was against Old Dominion, where he made a career high of 12 tackles. He noticed a season high of 2.5 tackles for a loss and recorded a sack.
Mason played four seasons at Wofford in Spartanburg, SC from 2019 through 2022. There he played in 36 games for the Terriers making 22 starts. He graduated with 149 tackles with 30 tackles for a loss. He also had 20 sacks, one pass defended, forced six fumbles and recovered two others. Mason excelled in the classroom as he was named to the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll.
Mason had the distinction of being the first player in Wofford history to be named to an All-Southern Conference First or Second Team for four straight seasons.
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