Linebacker Scooby Wright III warms up before the Birmingham Stallions’ first 2023 game. Wright, a former college star for the University of Arizona, is the most popular player in the USFL after four weeks of the season. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/USFL)
The following is a breakdown of all UFL transactions made between Monday, Apr. 22, and Friday, Apr. 26, ahead of the upcoming 2024 UFL week five slate of games.
Arlington Renegades
The Renegades have released kicker Taylor Russolino earlier this week in a somewhat surprising move. Russolino has been Arlington’s starting kicker since the beginning of the 2023 XFL season, going 21-for-25 (84.0%) on field goals with a long of 56 yards in his stint with the team. Russolino missed the Renegades’ last game against the Roughnecks due to injury and has now been replaced by Jonathan Garibay, who drilled a 31-yard field goal for the team last week.
Garibay competed for the Dallas Cowboys’ kicking position as an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech in 2022 but lost the job in training camp. He has since spent some time in the CFL with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats during their 2023 season.
Birmingham Stallions
Stallions fan-favorite Scooby Wright alluded to his retirement in a now-deleted X post with cleats hanging from a goalpost after suffering a neck injury during Birmingham’s week four contest versus the Defenders.
Wright had been a key figure both on and off the field for the Stallions during the 2022 and 2023 USFL seasons, but his production has taken a hit this season with all the talent brought in with the USFL-XFL merger. As a backup in 2024, he has tallied seven tackles for Birmingham.
Stallions fans will surely miss Wright’s energetic presence both on the field and sideline.
In other news, the Stallions moved starting cornerback Chris Jackson to the Injured Reserve. He had 15 tackles for Birmingham until this point.
The Stallions brought in former Fresno State safety JuJu Hughes to fill Jackson’s spot in the secondary. Since going undrafted in 2020, Hughes has been with three different organizations and has racked up 26 tackles and one sack in the NFL.
Additionally, the Stallions have made some changes in their special teams unit, signing former Ohio State punter Drue Chrisman to replace an injured Colby Wadman.
Birmingham also moved kicker Chris Blewitt, who missed last week’s game with an injury, to the Injured Reserve. Without Blewitt, the Stallions’ kicking duties are still in good hands with Ramiz Ahmed, who went four-for-four on field goals with a 46-yarder for the win against the Defenders in his debut last week.
D.C. Defenders
The Defenders moved starting defensive tackle Joe Wallace to the Injured Reserve and, in turn, signed former Battlehawks defensive tackle Kevin Atkins ahead of D.C.’s week five contest against St. Louis. After last season’s XFL season, Atkins signed with the New York Giants and spent training camp with the team. He should be a fruitful “replacement” for Wallace on the interior.
The Defenders also re-signed tight end Ben Bresnahan after moving starting tight end Briley Moore to the Injured Reserve last week. The team released backup tailback Pooka Williams Jr. to make room for this signing.
Houston Roughnecks
The Roughnecks’ linebacking corps already includes playmakers like Reuben Foster and J.T. Tyler. Now, add former Alabama All-SEC linebacker Christopher Allen to the mix, and that unit just got even better.
Allen was a two-time CFP national champion and second-team All-SEC honoree during his redshirt junior season in 2020 with the Crimson Tide. Over his four-year collegiate career, he recorded 61 tackles, including 19.5 for a loss and 7.5 sacks. Due to injury, he played just one game during his final year of college eligibility.
The Roughnecks are coming off their first win of 2024 in their best defensive performance of the season against a high-powered Renegades’ offense. Allen is slated to make his debut against the Stallions this week as a backup at defensive end.
The Roughnecks have also given Reid Sinnett another weapon in former SMU wide receiver Reggie Roberson Jr, who has had multiple stints on the Tennessee Titans practice squad and/or offseason roster since going undrafted in 2022. Roberson Jr. recorded 2,704 yards and 23 touchdowns on 168 catches as a four-year starter with the Mustangs. He is inactive for Saturday’s contest but is a player to watch out for down the line.
Memphis Showboats
The Showboats’ defensive secondary has struggled thus far, allowing a UFL-high 237.7 passing yards per game, and Memphis seems to be attempting to address that.
Christian McFarland was a starting safety with the Showboats and had 14 tackles on the season before being released this week. He’s essentially been replaced in the secondary by former All-USFL cornerback D.J. Daniel, who spent training camp with Memphis. Daniel was previously with the New Jersey Generals during the 2022 and 2023 USFL seasons.
It makes sense why the Showboats have signed a corner like Daniel to help address their pass-coverage woes but releasing McFarland, a starter, definitely comes as a surprise.
Michigan Panthers
After sustaining an injury in last week’s game against the Brahmas, Panthers starting quarterback E.J. Perry has been moved to the Injured Reserve
While expectations were high for Perry and Michigan’s offense entering this season after finishing strong last year, the production has been underwhelming. Before going down, Perry was 55-for-89 passing with 664 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions in three-and-half games. His protection unit allowed him to be sacked 14 times and was arguably the biggest factor holding Perry back.
With Perry out, former LSU quarterback Danny Etling will be taking over as the Panthers’ starting quarterback. He went 11-for-14 passing with 105 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in relief of Perry after he went down on Saturday.
The Panthers also signed former Los Angeles Rams quarterback Bryce Perkins to serve as their third-string emergency quarterback.
In other Panthers transaction news, the team waived starting wide receiver Jordan Suell. Up to this point, Suell had struggled with just four receptions for 26 yards, which is ninth on Michigan.
In a corresponding move, the Panthers signed wide receiver Gavin Holmes out of Baylor. Through six seasons with the Bears, Holmes totaled 72 receptions for 927 yards and seven touchdowns. He also has good experience as a return specialist and spent training camp with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent last summer.
We will see what Holmes can bring to the Panthers’ passing attack, which lacks playmakers aside from Marcus Simms and Trey Quinn.
San Antonio Brahmas
After going down with an injury against the Panthers last week, the Brahmas moved starting left tackle Derrick Kelly II to the Injured Reserve, ruling him out for five weeks. He had allowed zero sacks on San Antonio quarterbacks through four games. To essentially replace Kelly II, San Antonio has brought in offensive tackle George Moore, who was with the Defenders during training camp.
The Brahmas also released cornerback Teez Tabor, a depth piece in San Antonio’s secondary until now.
St. Louis Battlehawks
The Battlehawks have made complementary moves within their defensive secondary this week, releasing former All-USFL cornerback Channing Stribling and bringing back safety Nico Bolden, who spent time with the team during training camp.
With another roster opening, the Battlehawks made an offensive addition. After releasing Steven Mitchell Jr. during training camp, St. Louis has brought him back midway through the season. Mitchell Jr. was with St. Louis for the entirety of the 2023 XFL season, recording 16 tackles for 207 yards and four touchdowns in nine games (one start).
On Thursday, the Battlehawks moved tailback Mataeo Durant and linebacker Callahan O’Reilly to the Injured Reserve. Each had made solid contributions for St. Louis on opposite sides of the ball, with Durant splitting snaps at tailback and O’Reilly as a rotation piece at inside linebacker.
