Arlington will clinch the second playoff spot in the XFL South with a week ten victory over Houston. If San Antonio wins and Arlington loses, the third tiebreaker would give the Brahmas the advantage…With starting center Cameron Hunt active, Brian Folkerts once again drew the start at the pivot last weekend against DC. Willie Beavers also started at LT over George Moore. Hunt did come in at right guard at the end of the first half and again when LG Jake Stetz was hurt in the third quarter. Stetz does not appear on the team’s injury report for week ten…
QB Kelly Bryant made his season debut for a goal-line handoff on the first drive. He ended up playing six snaps on offense…RB De’Veon Smith limped off the field midway through the first quarter. He’s listed as “probable” on the team’s week ten injury report…LBs Colin Schooler and Isaiah Graham-Mobley, as well as S Joe Powell, all missed time against DC after being banged up during the game…WR Victor Bolden and DB Javaris Davis will not play due to injury this weekend…S Jamar Johnson was released by the Renegades late this week. He had been the backup to Powell at free safety. He played 65 snaps across four games and graded out positively per Pro Football Focus…DB Jamal Carter replaces Johnson on the roster. Carter started the first two games of the season before being placed on IR on March 4.
DC Defenders
The Defenders have clinched the XFL North and a home playoff game next weekend. It’s unclear whether or not they will rest any starters in week ten in preparation for the playoffs…DC’s final home game of the year in week nine was indeed a sellout, listed at 18,684. It was the most fans they’ve ever had at Audi FIeld including the three home games in 2020…In a surprise move, the Defenders released RB Ryquell Armstead and WR Jequez Ezzard this week. Armstead played all nine games as the primary backup to Abram Smith, though he played a season-low 16 snaps last week. Cam’Ron Harris was added on Friday to replenish the RB depth. He was in camp with the Seattle Sea Dragons. Ezzard had been inactive the last few weeks due to injury but was listed as a starter on the team’s week 10 depth chart…
The Defenders ruled out three defensive backs due to injury for this week. CB DeJuan Neal, CB Michael Joseph, and S Kentrell Brice are all listed as “out.” Neal was hurt in the first quarter against Arlington, while Brice was injured early in the second quarter…S Montae Nicholson was helped off field against the Renegades, putting no weight on left foot. The team placed him on IR this week and signed CB Reggie Robinson to give the defensive backfield some needed depth for the final week. Robinson was originally drafted by Seattle in November…
QB Eric Dungey was also placed on IR. Acting as third-team QB for the rest of the year will be Geremy Hickbottom out of Tennessee State. Hickbottom was one of the top HBCU quarterbacks coming out in 2022 and was the MVP of the HBCU Legacy Bowl all-star game ahead of the ’22 NFL Draft…OT Antonio Garcia was released and replaced by OT Tommy Champion. Champion had recently been let go by the Roughnecks after starting at right tackle for much of the season. Garcia had been a weekly inactive…S Joshua Allen was added off waivers from the Vipers. Allen was initially traded to Vegas by the Defenders in early March for Garcia…Former NFL star WR Chad Johnson tweeted his admiration for Defenders WR Lucky Jackson to his 3.2 million followers…Tom’s Watch Bar will host the final official Defenders watch party of the regular season on Saturday.
Houston Roughnecks
Houston has clinched the XFL South division and a home playoff game next weekend. Like DC in the North, it’s unclear whether Houston plans on resting any of their key starters against Arlington…With OT Sage Doxtater out again last week, Jack Snyder moved to LT, with John Yarbrough at LG…New RB Jeremy Cox got his first carry just before two-minue warning at the end of the fourth quarter. That was his only offensive play of the game…
Houston will be without a few players due to injury in week ten. LB Emmanuel Ellerbe and RB Dejoun Lee are “out.” Three players are listed as “doubtful”: WR Michael Bandy, Doxtater, and Snyder. That will leave Houston thin along the offensive line…Apparently pleased with how K Austin Jones has performed since signing him a few weeks ago, Houston released K Hunter Duplessis off IR this week…The Roughnecks practiced at TCU’s facilities as well as SMU’s this week in preparation for their upcoming game…The team was able to get some social media traction out of a pictured posted on Twitter that featured Head Coach Wade Phillips posing with Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce.
Orlando Guardians
Orlando will attempt to tie the 2001 Birmingham Thunderbolts for the worst record in XFL history at 2-8. If the Guardians lose to St. Louis, they will hold the record themselves at 1-9…RB Jah-Maine Martin, CB Shaq Wiggins and G David Moore were inactive against San Antonio. None of the three were on the injury report…For the first time this year, Ze’veyon Furcron did not start at center; rather, he started at left guard with Jalen Spady at center. Abdul Beecham was at RG, TJ Bradley at RT. In the second half, Fred Lauina made an appearance at RG, while Beecham moved to RT…
DT Trevon Sanders was hurt in second quarter, while RB Deddrick Thomas left the game with a wrist injury. DT Gerald Willis was also injured late in the game…QB Deondre Francois came in late in the second quarter. He played 15 snaps in the game, the most since a week two game that was also against the Brahmas…TE Logan Carter is the only player that appears on the injury report this week. He’s listed as “out”…Orlando didn’t make any transactions this week…With the team playing in St. Louis on Saturday, there will be one last watch party at Ivanhoe Park Brewing in Orlando.
San Antonio Brahmas
San Antonio still has a path to the playoffs, but it’s going to take some work in the final week to get it done. If the Brahmas win and Renegades lose, they’ll be in…Paxton Lynch was active as Coan’s backup in week nine, over Jawon Pass…DE Mike Tverdov and G Maea Teuhema were inactive due to injury against Orlando. Teuhema is out again this week, and Tverdov is listed as “questionable,” along with CB Terrell Bonds…CB Jameson Houston committed pass interference in the end zone on the first drive against Orlando after being signed earlier in the week…Kohl Levao started at LG instead of Mike Brown, though Brown was on top on the depth chart. Brown replaced Levao in the second half…OT Norman Price was hurt in the first quarter and he was carted off with a towel covering his face. Roubbens Joseph took his place. Price was placed on IR this week…
Delontae Scott was helped off in second quarter and LB/S Sean Williams was also hurt late in game. Neither appear in danger of missing the all-important week ten matchup…NT Javier Edwards limped off the field during the game against Orlando and was ruled out with a shoulder injury. He was placed on IR this week. PJ Hall was signed to replace him. Hall was a 2nd round draft pick of the Oakland Raiders in 2018, then was drafted by the Sea Dragons in November. He played the first three games of the season then was placed on IR in early March. He was released off IR on March 30…DT Jamahl Johnson was also signed. He entered the pro ranks in 2020 out of Iowa State…
Seattle and the XFL community mourned the death of DE Chris Smith this week. Smith was a 5th round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2014 NFL Draft and played for seven teams across eight NFL seasons. His cause of death was not immediately released. Smith was 31 years old…Seattle makes the playoffs with a win over Vegas on Sunday night combined with a St. Louis loss to Orlando. A win by both teams will take it to the fourth tiebreaker – “best combined ranking among division teams in points scored and points allowed in all games” – which favors Seattle…
In week nine’s battle with St. Louis, WR Josh Gordon didn’t check in until late in the first drive of the game…RB Darius Bradwell was a surprise inactive, leaving just TJ Hammonds behind Phillip Lindsay at RB. To that end, FB/TE Charlie Taumoepeau got some handoffs with Bradwell inactive…Bradwell was released on Friday as the team activated Brenden Knox from IR. Knox started the first two games before getting injured…DT Markell Utsey was also signed to give the Sea Dragons some interior DL depth. Utsey had been released from DC’s IR earlier this month…
Starting CB Linden Stephens is listed as “doubtful” on the team’s week ten injury report. DB Qwynnterrio Cole, WR Juwan Green, and WR Damion Willis are all listed as “questionable”…Seattle is offering Sea Dragons hats by True Brvnd, available to purchase only at Lumen Field, this weekend. The company is co-owned by Seattle QB Ben DiNucci.
St. Louis Battlehawks
To make the playoffs, St. Louis needs a Seattle loss whether or not the Battlehawks win. A win by both teams will send it deep into tiebreakers, and it’s possible Seattle would have the advantage there…In week nine, RB Mataeo Durant was inactive due to injury. Despite having Kareem Walker active as a potential backup to Brian Hill, the Battlehawks also used WRs Gary Jennings and Steven Mitchell at RB…The team was also without two key LBs in Mike Rose and Tre Watson, both out due to injury. During the game, LB Silas Kelly was hurt in the end zone on Ben DiNucci’s TD run, but he ran off under his own power…
If St. Louis is to make the playoffs, they’ll have to do it without some key contributors in week ten. Kelly, Rose, and S Nate Meadors are all listed as “out.” Four players are listed as “questionable”: S Jonathan Alexander, S Chris Cooper, Durant, and CB Tim Harris…With injuries in the defensive backfield, the Battlehawks added two safeties to the roster this week in Mister Harriel and Evan Fields. Fields was a 5th round pick of St. Louis in November but was cut as the team trimmed down its roster before the regular season began. Harriel played the first three games of the year for Vegas before being released on March 20…WR Chad Hansen was released in a corresponding move.
Vegas Vipers
Despite the recent losses, Vegas has forced eight turnovers in the last three games…Against Houston last week, RB John Lovett started and got the first carry over Rod Smith; Smith came in on second play. Smith ended up limping off the field before halftime. He will not play due to injury this week…LB Max Roberts was hurt early (back). He’s not on the injury report this week…OT Quinterrius Eatmon was up but Jovann Letuli started at RT again…LT Jamil Demby was injured late in first quarter, and was carted to the locker room. Eatmon replaced him at LT, then Larry Williams played there in the second half. When Williams came in, Eatmon kicked to RT. Demby was sent to IR this week…
With Smith out at running back, the team added depth by signing Shai McKenzie. McKenzie ended up at Hampton after starting his college career at Virginia Tech…WR Martavis Bryant and CB Antonio Phillips will also be sidelined this weekend due to injury. Backup LB Jawuan Johnson is listed as “questionable”…The team made some additions along the offensive line with the injury to Demby. They claimed G Daishawn Dixon off waivers from St. Louis and signed OT Chad Broome-Webster. Dixon had been a healthy scratch most weeks for the Battlehawks. Broome-Webster played in the Ivy League for Brown University…DT Robert Windsor was also placed on IR this week and S Joshua Allen was claimed off waivers by DC. Vegas had originally acquired Allen from DC in March.
