Free safety Santos Ramirez is one of the players who have agreed to return to the Defenders in 2024. Ramirez was a key pieces on the Defenders’ defensive unit in 2023.
Last night, the UFL revealed that 15 players have agreed to terms with the D.C. Defenders for the 2024 season. Among the signings, three are additions from free agency, while the rest are either 1) re-signings who played with the Defenders last season or 2) players acquired during one of the Dispersal Drafts.
Free Agent Signings
The Defenders signed running back Darius Hagans, safety Sam Kidd, and wide receiver Trea Shropshire as free agents.
Darius Hagans played under head coach Reggie Barlow at Virginia State from 2019 to 2021 before Barlow departed the Trojans to take his current role with the Defenders. In 2022, the year after Barlow left, Hagans put together his best collegiate season yet – which saw him double his production from the prior two seasons. During his breakout senior season, he had a staggering 189 carries for 1,089 yards and six touchdowns. After going undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft, he spent training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Hagans is a tough runner with good speed and elusiveness. However, predicting how his one year of major production at the FCS level will translate to the professional level is difficult. If he wants to make the Defenders ‘ roster, he will need to beat out other players at the tailback position who are not Abram Smith – namely, Cam’Ron Harris, Pooka Williams, and Tabyus Taylor.
Sam Kidd battled injuries throughout his six-year career at James Madison. Regardless, he was still able to put together a productive career with the Dukes – which saw him total 112 tackles, including eight for a loss, and 12 passes defended in 42 games. He earned an All-Sun Belt Conference honorable mention to close his collegiate career in 2022.
Kidd can potentially be a vital piece in the Defenders’ safety rotation if he stays healthy.
Trea Shropshire was one of the three receivers selected by the Defenders during the XFL Rookie Draft but went unprotected during the player allocation process after the merger. He now relands with the Defenders as a free agent. The Louisiana native was the University of Alabama-Birmingham’s leading receiver in 2021 and 2022, earning back-to-back All-Conference USA honorable mentions to close out his collegiate career.
Shropshire is another newcomer at wide receiver who can help fill the void left by the departures of the Defenders’ two leading receivers from last season – Lucky Jackson and Chris Blair.
Returners
Free safety Santos Ramirez, cornerback Dejuan Neal, and defensive tackle Joseph Wallace were all starters on the Defenders’ defensive unit last year and are among the players who have agreed to return for next season.
Both Santos Ramirez and Dejuan Neal were key pieces on the Defenders’ defensive unit in 2023 and should continue to be this upcoming season. Ramirez was the Defenders’ third-leading tackler (47), while Neal was the team’s fourth-leading tackler (44) during the 2023 season.
Stopping the run was arguably the biggest weakness for the XFL runner-up Defenders last season. To alleviate these concerns, they have added run-stuffers like T.J. Barnes and Donovan Jeter to complement returners like Joseph Wallace. With the Defenders last season, Wallace logged 21 tackles, including six for a loss and 2.5 sacks.
Defensive end Malik Fisher, linebacker Ferrod Gardner, and cornerback Nydair Rouse are more returners who were depth pieces on the Defenders’ defensive unit last season.
Gardner, who made 10 tackles with the Defenders last year, signed with the Washington Commanders following the XFL season but was released during final-roster cuts in August.
Michael Maietti and Tommy Champion are two offensive line returners for the Defenders.
Maietti battled injuries last season, only appearing in five games with the Defenders. He was their starting center and recorded a league-best 87.8 PFF run-blocking grade.
The Defenders also maintained their starting kicker from last season – Matthew McCrane. He drilled 12 of his 16 field goal attempts with a long of 50 yards in 2023.
Dispersal Draft Signees
The Defenders signed defensive tackle T.J. Barnes and quarterback Jalan McClendon, who were claimed during the Super-Dispersal Draft on Jan 15. Meanwhile, defensive end Tariqious Tisdale was selected during the Jan. 5 Mini-Dispersal Draft.
At 6-6 369 lbs, T.J. Barnes, mentioned earlier, can be the nose guard in the Defenders’ 3-4 alignment. The 2024 UFL season will be the last of his professional career at 33 years old.
Jalan McClendon was selected with the first-round pick by the Defenders in the Super-Dispersal Draft. He joins a revamped quarterback room, which presumptively will have neither its starter nor backup from a year ago in Jordan Ta’amu and D’Eriq King, respectively.
McClendon started the last four games of the Vegas Vipers’ season in 2023 and showed promise as their quarterback of the future. Now, he’s the favorite to start for the Defenders over Deondre Francois, who struggled with the Orlando Guardians in five games last season.
Tariqious Tisdale rejoins the Defenders for a second stint after spending time with them during training camp last year after being traded from the Roughnecks. He was released during final roster cuts and landed with the Seattle Sea Dragons late during the 2023 season.
Wrap-up
While 12 of the 15 players announced yesterday were already on the Defenders’ roster, I thought discussing them would still be interesting.
Meanwhile, with the three free-agent signings from yesterday, the Defenders’ roster now stands at 68 players. With training camp rosters capped at 75 players per team, expect a few more free-agency pickups from the Defenders in the coming weeks. One of these pickups will likely be at the quarterback position, with only two signal-callers currently rostered.
