Recently waived punter Drue Chrisman was brought onto the Birmingham Stallions roster after Colby Wadman sustained an injury four weeks ago. (X – @DChrisman91)
The following is a breakdown of all UFL transactions made between Monday, May 20, and Friday, May 24, ahead of the week nine slate of games.
For the second straight week, the Showboats did not make any transactions. Thus, they are not part of this rundown.
Arlington Renegades
The Renegades signed former Roughnecks tailback Jeremy Cox from the Southwest Kansas Storm (AFL) to replace tailback Leddie Brown, who was moved to the Injured Reserve this week.
Cox recorded 121 rushing yards and one touchdown on 22 carries in two appearances after signing with the Roughnecks toward the end of the 2023 XFL season in April.
Arlington also released defensive lineman Darrius Moragne, who the team had signed just a couple of weeks ago, to make room for former Air Force safety James Jones IV.
Jones IV completed his two-year military service commitment and has since been trying to revitalize his football career. He participated in the 2023 XFL Combine and a recent tryout with the Minnesota Vikings.
Cox and Jones IV are both inactive for the Renegades for their week nine contest versus the Battlehawks.
Birmingham Stallions
After All-USFL punter Colby Wadman sustained an injury four weeks ago, the Stallions signed former Ohio State punter Drue Chrisman to be his temporary replacement.
Filling in for Wadman, Chrisman did his job. He punted seven times, netting 46.4 yards per punt with a long of 58 yards. One of his punts landed in the 20.
Now, with Wadman healthy again, Birmingham has released Chrisman to make room for Wadman to return.
In a similar move, the Stallions re-signed safety JoJo Tillery after he was released last month with an injury. Tillery’s roster spot was essentially replaced by JuJu Hughes, who signed with Birmingham when Tillery was waived.
Now, Tillery has been brought back, and Hughes has been waived. In his time with Birmingham as a backup, Hughes recorded four tackles. Meanwhile, Tillery has been with the Stallions since 2022 and has totaled 73 tackles in his USFL/UFL career.
Before Tillery sustained his injury in week five, he was a starter at safety for Birmingham. However, he is listed as inactive for this week’s game against San Antonio.
D.C. Defenders
There was some major movement within D.C.’s offensive line this week as offensive tackles D’Marcus Hayes and Jahmir Ross-Johnson were released.
Both Hayes and Ross-Johnson had been in and out of the starting lineup for the Defenders throughout the season. In eight games (six starts), Hayes let up 31 quarterback pressures, including six sacks. Meanwhile, Ross-Johnson allowed 18 pressures, including one sack, in just five games (four starts).
The Defenders replaced Hayes and Ross-Johnson with offensive tackles William Barnes and David Satkowski, both of whom are rookies out of University of North Carolina and Stonehill College, respectively.
Barnes was a two-year starter over his last two collegiate seasons with the Tar Heels. While he’s listed as a tackle, the 6-4 308 lbs lineman is versatile, as he has experience from his collegiate days playing on the interior He participated in New York Giants Rookie Mini-Camp as an undrafted free agent earlier this month.
Satkowski was a two-time First-Team All-NEC honoree and made 29 consecutive starts to close out his collegiate career. He attended Chicago Bears Rookie Mini-Camp after going undrafted earlier this month.
In other Defenders-transaction news, starting linebacker Francis Bernard was moved to the Suspended List for undisclosed purposes.
Bernard had notched 25 tackles for D.C. in five games. With only two weeks left of the season, it’s unlikely he returns.
Houston Roughnecks
The Roughnecks re-signed offensive guard Shamarious Gilmore after releasing him just last week.
Gilmore started Houston’s first two games of the season at left guard, but didn’t see any action after that in his first stint with the team due to injury.
In a corresponding move to Gilmore’s signing, Houston waived offensive tackle Na’Ty Rodgers, who has started seven games at right tackle for the Roughnecks this season and was a starter with the Houston Gamblers last season.
Rodgers has struggled this year for Houston, allowing 23 quarterback pressures, including three sacks, and committing six penalties.
The Roughnecks also made a change in their running back room, swapping out third-stringer Tiyon Evans for Ezra Gray, who was with Houston during training camp.
Unless we see injuries, don’t expect Gray to overtake Mark Thompson or T.J. Pledger in terms of workload, especially with how late in the season he’s rejoining the Roughnecks.
Lastly, veteran defensive tackle Toby Johnson and former Alabama standout linebacker Reuben Foster have been moved to the Injured Reserve.
Johnson hasn’t played in a game since Houston’s week three contest against the Panthers, where he sustained the injury that has kept him sidelined since.
Foster has been a playmaker on Houston’s defense throughout the season, racking up 30 tackles and one interception through seven games. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to finish out these last two games.
With an open defensive spot, the Roughnecks added safety Mister Harriel.
Harriel appeared in three games with the Vegas Vipers during the 2023 XFL season before being released. He landed on his feet with the Battlehawks later in the year but went unclaimed during the Post-Merger Player Allocation Process and has been a free agent until now.
This week, Harriel will be inactive against the Panthers.
Michigan Panthers
With 2023 All-USFL tailback Wes Hills headed to the Injured Reserve, the Panthers re-signed tailback Toa Taua.
Taua signed with Michigan midway through the 2023 USFL season and only appeared in one game. He was released earlier this year by the team during training-camp roster cutdowns.
The Panthers also moved defensive end Levi Bell to the Injured Reserve, effectively ending the young spring football superstar’s season after one game.
Bell was a key contributor on Michigan’s defensive unit last year as a rookie before earning an opportunity in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks. His re-signing last week was a massive move for the Panthers with playoffs looming; however, we won’t get to see how that will play out.
With an open spot from Bell being moved to the Injured Reserve, the Panthers re-signed defensive end Mike Tafua, who they had released earlier this month.
Michigan also waived backup linebackers De’Gabriel Floyd and DaShaun White. Floyd was eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft but signed with the UFL in February instead. He had struggled with injury and saw minimal action throughout the season. Meanwhile, White made 14 tackles in his stint with the Panthers.
With Floyd released, the Panthers brought in a new face—former Arkansas linebacker Bumper Pool.
Pool was a three-time Second-Team All-SEC linebacker from 2020-2022. He recorded 441 career tackles (school record) with 27.5 tackles for loss, 19 passes defended, and three sacks over 55 games with the Razorbacks. He was a team captain and three-year starter.
Pool, who spent time with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2023, is definitely someone I can see becoming a key figure in Michigan’s linebacking corps, whether it be this season or more in the future.
Pool is already active this week for Michigan and will serve in a depth role against the Roughnecks.
San Antonio Brahmas
The Brahmas waived quarterback Jayden de Laura and offensive tackle George Moore, both of whom did not see a single snap in live-game action during their tenures with San Antonio.
de Laura had been San Antonio’s emergency quarterback with Chase Garbers on the Injured Reserve, but now that Garbers is healthy there’s simply no room for de Laura anymore.
St. Louis Battlehawks
With A.J. McCarron healthy again, the Battlehawks released Drew Plitt, who they signed to be their emergency quarterback for one week as McCarron was out.
With an open roster spot, St. Louis re-signed cornerback Mike Hampton, who started seven games with the Battlehawks last XFL season and made 36 tackles.
Hampton is already active for the Battlehawks, listed as cornerback Tim Harris’ backup.
