Brian Folkerts once again started at center with Cameron Hunt (lower leg) inactive against Orlando…Four of the five starting offensive linemen played all 53 snaps last week. George Moore started at left tackle and played 22 snaps. Willie Beavers came in in relief and played 31 snaps. Reserve OL Darta Lee added two snaps as an extra offensive lineman…RB Leddie Brown got the starting nod over De’Veon Smith, though Smith out-snapped Brown 29 to 25…S Will Hill was ejected after being called for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, the second coming early in the second half. His replacement was Brandon Rusnak…According to Pro Football Focus, G Mike Horton was the first offensive linemen in the XFL this season to score a 90.0+ game grade based on their rating system…
The Renegades lost their leading tackler, LB Donald Payne, for the rest of the season with a high ankle sprain. He was placed on IR, with LB Aaron Donkor signed to take his place. Donkor had been with Houston earlier this year and had graded out well in 30 snaps across two games per PFF…LB Bunmi Rotimi is listed as “questionable” on the team’s injury report for this week’s game against DC; all others listed are “probable”…Arlington’s official watch party for Sunday’s game is at Bourbon St. Bar & Grill in Bedford…Head Coach Bob Stoops and XFL President Russ Brandon were both on WFAA Daybreak on Friday morning. WFAA is a local station out of the Dallas-Ft. Worth area.
Awesome news going into this weekend’s @XFL2023 games:@AudiField in DC will be sold out for their hometown @XFLDefenders’ game! Pumped for our players and coaches and a HUGE shout to our Defender fans… rowdiest gang in the #XFL and a FUN house to play football in!! Ball out pic.twitter.com/0AL9Dohjg4
The team is expecting a sellout of its final home game of the regular season on Sunday afternoon. If that is the case, it would be the largest crowd ever for an XFL game in DC, including the three games the team hosted in 2020…Add DC to the list of teams now taking 2024 season ticket deposits…Of DC’s two big acquisitions last week, CB Isaiah Johnson was inactive, while S DJ Swearinger played 26 defensive snaps…Two players are listed on the injury report as “out” this week: WR Jequez Ezzard will miss his second straight game, while LB Anthony Hines will also be inactive…
WR Chris Blair broke his own league-wide season-high in receiving yards after just one week. In week seven, he put up 139 yards against Orlando. In week eight against Seattle, he went for 148…Earlier in the week, the team released DT Markell Utsey from injured reserve…They also placed CB Nydair Rouse on IR and signed OT Dare Rosenthal. Rosenthal was invited to Atlanta Falcons minicamp in 2022 after going undrafted…DC will be hosting a fan fest prior to Sunday’s game.
Houston Roughnecks
OL Sage Doxtater, LB Tim Ward, and RB Dejoun Lee are all “out” for Saturday’s contest against Vegas due to injury. Ward will miss his fourth straight game, while Doxtater returned from a three-game absence against San Antonio only to get hurt again…The Roughnecks made a host of transactions this week, most notably releasing WR Jaquarii Roberson. Roberson was signed with high expectations, having ended the NFL season on the practice squad of the LA Rams. However, he failed to see game action for Houston despite injuries thinning the depth at WR….Taking his place on the roster is RB Jeremy Cox. Cox was an NFL Alumni Academy grad who was assigned to the Arlington Renegades for training camp. He didn’t make the final roster, however. He has played in seven NFL games and will be insurance for the injured Lee…
Houston also claimed OT Ja’Chai Baker off waivers from San Antonio, the second time Baker has been claimed by a team this year. He takes the place of OT Tommy Champion, who was surprisingly let go. Champion started the first five games of the year at right tackle, but was eventually replaced there by James Moore…CB Alexander Myres was also activated from IR, and CB Kary Vincent was released in a corresponding move. Myres missed about a month of action. Vincent started three of the six games he played for the Roughnecks…The team’s new kicker, Austin Jones, made his only field goal attempt, from 41 yards out, against the Brahmas…Houston is also taking 2024 season ticket deposits via XFL.com.
Orlando Guardians
Safeties Matt Elam and Marcus Murphy were both shaken up in the game against Arlington last weekend, but neither appear on this week’s injury report…The only player on the injury report, and slated to miss the game against San Antonio, is a big one: TE Cody Latimer, who has been the best player on the Orlando team this year (and PFF’s highest-graded offensive player for the Guardians). He’s out with a knee injury…QB Deondre Francois entered on second drive starting inside Arlington 10 yard-line to run trick play; it was his only snap of the game and his first snap since week four…
Even in week eight, Orlando continues to give many of their offensive linemen playing time: all seven that were active played on offense against the Renegades…Orlando’s final home game was last weekend, and their attendance saw a slight uptick from the previous week’s numbers. It was their fourth-highest attendance out of five home games…With the team on the road against San Antonio, the locals will be cheering at the official watch party at Ivanhoe Park Brewing.
San Antonio Brahmas
With both Roubbens Joseph and Maea Teuhema inactive along the offensive line, the team started two backups on the left side in LT Dwayne Wallace and LG Mike Brown. Teuhema is out again this week, which will be his third game missed in a row…The revamped offensive line, per the team’s depth chart this week, has a returning Derrick Kelly (off IR) starting at RT; Norman Price kicking inside to RG; Brown again at LG and Wallace at LT. Kohl Levao, who has started the last five games, is now listed as a backup behind Brown. Chidi Okeke, who has started seven of eight games, is behind Wallace on the depth chart. The one constant has been Luke Juriga, who has started all eight games at center…
DE Mike Tverdov and CB Terrell Bonds are both listed as “questionable” this week…San Antonio placed S Jack Koerner and CB Ryan Lewis on IR this week after both were hurt in last weekend’s game against Houston. Korner had his leg bent on an interception return at the end of the first half. Lewis had to be helped off after covering a punt in the second half…Replacing them on the roster is CB Jameson Houston and CB Marco Domio. Houston has played in three NFL games and was a member of the Michigan Panthers of the USFL in 2022. He was drafted by the Vegas Vipers but released at final cuts. Domio is NFL Draft-eligible, having played at Auburn, UCF, and Central Oklahoma during his college career…
The Brahmas also activated LB Riko Jeffers off IR. He was placed on injured reserve on March 22. Jeffers played in the first five games of the season, starting two, and slots in as the backup MLB this week…The team lost OT Ja’Chai Baker off waivers to Houston. Baker played just one game for San Antonio after being claimed off waivers from Orlando early in March…Punter Brad Wing was the subject of the XFL’s weekly “Know My Name” video feature on YouTube…With the team at home this weekend, players and coaches made a number of stops in the community on Friday.
— Spring Football News 🏈 🇲🇫 (@SpringFBnews) April 9, 2023
Seattle Sea Dragons
Despite only joining the team earlier in the week, NFL veteran Phillip Lindsay earned the start at running back. He played 19 of 62 offensive snaps against DC, while Darius Bradwell played 11 and TJ Hammonds 6. Seattle went empty (no running backs) on the majority of their snaps against the Defenders…The Sea Dragons placed starting MLB Jordan Evans on IR. He had not played since week five due to injury. He is the second Seattle inside linebacker to end up on injured reserve after Emmanuel Smith. CB Olajah Griffin was brought in to take his roster spot. Griffin was undrafted out of USC in 2021 and has spent time with the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants…
OT Liam Jimmons was also placed on IR. The team signed DE Tariqious Tisdale in a corresponding move. Tisdale was a seventh round selection of the Houston Roughnecks in the Front Seven Phase of the XFL Draft in November, only to be placed on IR before the season began. He was released by the Roughnecks a week ago…DE Chris Smith is “questionable” for the game against St. Louis on Sunday…If Seattle loses to St. Louis this week, they will be eliminated from playoff contention…The team drew its second-best attendance number last week at Lumen Field. They play at home again in the final week of the season…Game time for that contest has been changed by the league and ESPN: It’s been moved from 9pm EST to 7pm EST…The official watch party in Seattle for Sunday’s game will be held at Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma.
A number of players injured in the game against Vegas will miss this week’s all-important matchup against division-rival Seattle: RB Mataeo Durant, CB Tim Harris, and LB Mike Rose have all been ruled out. Five other players, including starting QB AJ McCarron, are listed as “questionable.” McCarron is expected to play…After leading the team to victory in McCarron’s absence last week, backup QB Nick Tiano was rewarded with a trip to injured reserve. A foot injury will keep Tiano out 4-6 weeks, per Head Coach Anthony Becht. Manny Wilkins will move to the backup QB role, while the team signed Vincent Testaverde, Jr, to serve as the third quarterback. Testaverde was with the Tampa Bay Vipers in camp in the XFL in 2020 but did not make the team. He also has experience in the CFL, IFL, and NAL. His father played with Becht on the New York Jets…
The Battlehawks continued their tradition of drawing strong crowds to their home games, with a third over 35,000. They close out the season with two more home games at the Dome at America’s Center…If St. Louis beats Seattle on Sunday, they clinch a playoff berth in the XFL North…McCarron took to Instagram to criticize the league for its jersey sale rollout. He felt players were being left out financially by not having jerseys personalized with player names and numbers made available. He also knocked the price point for the jerseys ($189.99).
An injury to star receiver Jeff Badet has left the Vipers with a hole in their receiver corps. (Twitter)
Vegas Vipers
Starting RT Quinterrius Eatmon was inactive against St. Louis, leading to Jovann Letuli making his first start. He had played just 18 snaps on the year previous to that, but graded out well to the tune of a 69.2 per PFF…WR Jeff Badet was also inactive due to injury; he’s listed as “questionable” this week…Vegas has had one of the most extensive injury reports in the league over the last few weeks. DT Robert Windsor and CB Antonio Phillips are the only two players listed as “out” for week nine, while a host of their teammates are listed as either “questionable” or “probable”…RB Brian Burt saw his most extensive action of the season against the Battlehawks with Rod Smith (back) and John Lovett (illness/hand) both missing time in the game…
Another injury in the game was to G Tony Adams, who was placed on IR this week. His place was taken on the roster by OL Fernando Frye. Frye was originally drafted by the Vipers in November, but cut prior to the start of the regular season…The Vipers got some good news on the injury front on Friday when they activated DT Destiny Vaeao from IR. G Rod Taylor was released. Vaeao was a supplemental draft pick but was injured in training camp. He’s an NFL veteran and Super Bowl champion. He’ll look to add beef to the middle of a defense that has struggled to stop the run…Vegas’s kicking woes continued in week eight. After releasing Bailey Giffen earlier in the week, newly-signed Sam Sloman was 1-2 on field goals, hitting from 23 yards out, but missing from 43…The Vegas game in week ten was changed from a 9pm EST start to a 7pm EST start. The team plays Seattle at Lumen Field on Sunday, April 23rd, as the XFL’s final regular season game of the year.
