The San Antonio Brahmas signed former Washington State/Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura (10/28/2022 Arizona Athletics)
The following is a breakdown of all UFL transactions made between Monday, Apr. 29, and Friday, May 3, ahead of the upcoming UFL week six slate of games.
Arlington Renegades
The Renegades’ defensive secondary has struggled all season and can use all the help it can get. Arlington’s pass coverage is graded sixth out of eight units on PFF (57.4). With that, the Renegades re-signed safety Joe Powell from the National Arena League (NAL).
Powell was a key figure on the Renegades’ championship roster last year, recording 35 tackles and four interceptions. He’s undoubtedly a big addition, but will he be enough to turn Arlington’s winless season around?
The Renegades also got some reinforcement upfront by signing offensive lineman Marquis Lucas earlier this week. Lucas was a starter with the New Orleans Breakers over the past two USFL seasons. Overall, the 31-year-old has already been part of four different spring football organizations, including Arlington, going back to the AAF in 2019. Lucas was with the Renegades for the better part of training camp in March.
The Renegades released cornerback Duron Lowe and safety Brandon Rusnak to make room for these signings. Both were depth pieces in Arlington’s secondary up until now.
Birmingham Stallions
The undefeated Stallions continue to make transactions to improve their roster, signing linebacker Maalik Hall. Hall was an undrafted free agent in 2023 who spent the entirety of the last NFL season with the New York Jets on the Injured Reserve.
In other news, Birmingham released defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman and punter Colby Wadman. Twyman had been a backup for the Stallions, while Wadman has been replaced by Drue Chrisman, who Birmingham signed last week to replace an injured Wadman.
D.C. Defenders
The Defenders made a change at safety, releasing veteran starter D.J. Swearinger and bringing in a familiar face from last season, Kentrell Brice. Brice recorded 26 tackles as a starter for D.C. on a team that made it all the way to the XFL Championship last year.
As mentioned, Swearinger had been a starter for the Defenders up until being waived, so D.C.’s decision to release him was definitely an interesting one. In an Instagram post he made after his release, Swearinger said that the staff told him he was being released so younger players could get more opportunities. Swearinger is currently 32 years old.
Houston Roughnecks
After moving Woody Brandom to the Injured Reserve, the Roughnecks signed rookie tight end A.J. Lewis out of Alabama State. Lewis went undrafted and unsigned during the 2024 NFL Draft process. His opportunity with Houston will allow him to put tape out there to show NFL teams what he can do.
The Roughnecks also waived safety Ja’Von Hicks to make room for Jamari Brown coming off the Injured Reserve. Brown is listed as Houston’s starting free safety for the team’s week six contest against the Battlehawks.
Michigan Panthers
The Panthers have lost a key piece on their defensive line in defensive tackle Daniel Wise, who was moved to the Injured Reserve earlier this week. Wise had 17 tackles and 1.5 sacks through five games. Michigan will surely miss his presence, but the good thing is that Mike Nolan’s squad has a lot of depth on its interior defensive line with other guys like Garrett Marino and Walter Palmore.
San Antonio Brahmas
Transaction-wise, the 4-1 Brahmas have had a busy week as they prepare for their week six contest against the Defenders.
In arguably the week’s biggest news, the Brahmas signed former Washington State/Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura earlier this week. de Laura, 22, was unclaimed in the 2024 NFL Draft and unsigned as an undrafted free agent.
de Laura was a starter at Washington State in 2021, throwing for 2,798 yards and 23 touchdowns on a 63.2% completion rate. The Cougars finished with a 7-5 record and were bowl-eligible with de Laura at the helm of the offense that year. Following the 2021 season, De Laura transferred to Arizona where he started. He threw for a career-high 3,685 yards and 25 touchdowns on a 62.5% completion rate, but the Wildcats only finished 5-7 and didn’t qualify for a bowl game in 2022. de Laura’s production for Arizona took a step back during the 2023 season, as he only appeared in four games and was a backup other than that.
de Laura transferred to Texas State for the 2024 season but soon after withdrew his transfer due to sexual assault allegations. Subsequently, he declared for the NFL Draft.
de Laura likely won’t see any playing time behind Quentin Dormady and Kevin Hogan this season on San Antonio’s depth chart. However, De Laura has good potential and can be the Brahmas’ quarterback of the future at his ceiling. As mentioned, he’s only 22, so he still can develop.
In a corresponding move, the Brahmas released third-string quarterback Tom Flacco, who de Laura is replacing.
The Brahmas also released tailback Brycen Alleyne, center Alex Pihlstrom, and linebacker Jamir Jones. Alleyne and Pihlstrom were depth pieces for San Antonio at their respective positions, while Jones started two games at outside linebacker when healthy.
With an open roster spot, the Brahmas brought back cornerback Teez Tabor, who was just released by San Antonio last week. Tabor was a second-round NFL draft pick out of Florida in 2017.
St. Louis Battlehawks
With an opening, the Battlehawks have re-signed tailback Kevon Latulas. Latulas was with St. Louis during training camp but was waived during roster cuts. Latulas’ signing comes after tailback Mataeo Durant was moved to the Injured Reserve last week.
Latulas will serve behind Jacob Saylors and Wayne Gallman Jr. in the tailback rotation for the Battlehawks.
