AJ McCarron #10 of the St. Louis Battlehawks drops back to pass in the first quarter against the Birmingham Stallions at Protective Stadium on May 11, 2024 in Birmingham, Alabama. (Photo by Brandon Sumrall/UFL/Getty Images)
On Friday, the St. Louis Battlehawks and head coach Anthony Becht announced the team would part ways with QB A.J. McCarron. Because McCarron has not re-signed with the league for 2025 and is therefore not under contract, the more accurate description would be that the Battlehawks relinquished his rights, allowing him to sign with another UFL team if he so desired.
A post on McCarron’s personal Instagram page indicated he was surprised by the announcement. McCarron, 34, vowed to speak more on the topic, and address his football future, on Monday. The Battlehawks currently do not have any quarterbacks on their off-season roster.
A fifth round NFL draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals out of Alabama, where he was a three-time National Champion, McCarron spent his first four pro seasons in Cincinnati. He became a journeyman backup after that, before finding his way to the third iteration of the XFL in 2023.
He became one of the best quarterbacks in the league and a recognizable name the XFL could build around. McCarron’s play earned him another shot in the NFL with the Bengals, where he spent most of the 2023 season. He was released in February so that he could rejoin the Battlehawks, now in the United Football League.
After barely missing the playoffs in 2023, McCarron led the Battlehawks to the post-season in 2024, and was again one of the top passers in the league. His status for 2025 was up in the air at the time of his release, as he had not publicly committed to either play another year, or walk away.
In speaking with St. Louis media, Becht indicated the team was ready to move in a different direction at the position. He noted the expectation was only to get one season from McCarron, and they ended up getting two. Becht also wanted to do right by McCarron, releasing him in case McCarron wanted to continue playing.
4 thoughts on “End of an era in St. Louis: Battlehawks release QB A.J. McCarron”
I have yet to see this as a UFL transaction, but I am going to presume it is real as there have been multiple reports on the subject. To me, this is not a surprise. It’s more like an “They actually did it.” It is truly a very interesting turnabout. As XFL management felt it was in the best interest of the league to assign a large number of rookie head coaches with very limited coaching experience. For the most part this failed and among them was Anthony Becht. I always felt it was a risk to put a rookie head coach in the best market, with the most notable QB. We don’t know how much being an inexperienced head coach held back the squad from achieving true greatness. The Battlehawks did fine at 14-6 and to be honest Becht has proven himself to be quite a sponge, learning new things easily as he adds this to the strong foundation he has. Plus he truly understands what football players are supposed to be. Although known as more of a players coach, he expects you to be a REAL football player. If you aren’t you need to be elsewhere. I feel he has the makings of a real good coach and he will only get better, even if his team drops a bit without McCarron.
AJ McCarron, Anthony Becht and Bruce Gradkowski did not gel. I look at it this way. AJ McCarron has a great deal of heart, but maybe not head. I think he has a great head for football. I imagine most times he complained about what the coach called for vs what he wanted to do, he was right. He still ran the RPO the the letters. I believe he knows exactly what he can and can’t do and that he can feel is the best play at the moment. As much as I feel he knows offense, I think he does not understand his political football views can be polarizing, something it seems Becht tired on as often complained after a call did not work. The Battlehawks made a statement with this release. It told everybody, Becht can succeed and the St. Louis Battlehawks will be ok.
To me, even with the increased talent in the league AJ McCarron may be the league’s best player and quarterback, even at 34. The next question becomes, does he still want to compete in the UFL? He clearly has the talent to compete and excel, but where? If the former Alabama collegiate two-time champ wants to play in Birmingham it may be a discussion to have with Skip Holtz. Holtz generally enjoys playing with mobile quarterbacks. That stated it might be intriguing for Skip Holtz to have a thoroughbred of McCarron’s talent in the stable. Ken Whisenhunt seems to do well with former St. Louis stud quarterbacks that really have an ability to throw the ball well. Depending on the availability of Perez or Ta’amu, he may fond a home there. I think if he ended up in San Antonio, he would do well there as well. Although I think he would do very well in Michigan, they currently have 3 strong QBs there. Again this is all a wait and see and a ton of speculation on my behalf. Either way, whatever he does I hope he is happy. I did mention that heart. He should just stay away from the politics.
I’m not sure you’ll see this reflected in the transactions. Because McCarron hasn’t re-signed with the league, there’s really nothing to release him from. While St. Louis is “giving up” his rights that they retained at the end of last season, I don’t know if the UFL would report that on their transaction page.
The Battlehawks Twitter page has acknowledged the move and Becht has given quotes to St. Louis media about the move (hyperlinked in the article). That may be as “official” as we’re going to get of an announcement.
As always Greg, Thank you. You are very good for the league and its fans.
I have yet to see this as a UFL transaction, but I am going to presume it is real as there have been multiple reports on the subject. To me, this is not a surprise. It’s more like an “They actually did it.” It is truly a very interesting turnabout. As XFL management felt it was in the best interest of the league to assign a large number of rookie head coaches with very limited coaching experience. For the most part this failed and among them was Anthony Becht. I always felt it was a risk to put a rookie head coach in the best market, with the most notable QB. We don’t know how much being an inexperienced head coach held back the squad from achieving true greatness. The Battlehawks did fine at 14-6 and to be honest Becht has proven himself to be quite a sponge, learning new things easily as he adds this to the strong foundation he has. Plus he truly understands what football players are supposed to be. Although known as more of a players coach, he expects you to be a REAL football player. If you aren’t you need to be elsewhere. I feel he has the makings of a real good coach and he will only get better, even if his team drops a bit without McCarron.
AJ McCarron, Anthony Becht and Bruce Gradkowski did not gel. I look at it this way. AJ McCarron has a great deal of heart, but maybe not head. I think he has a great head for football. I imagine most times he complained about what the coach called for vs what he wanted to do, he was right. He still ran the RPO the the letters. I believe he knows exactly what he can and can’t do and that he can feel is the best play at the moment. As much as I feel he knows offense, I think he does not understand his political football views can be polarizing, something it seems Becht tired on as often complained after a call did not work. The Battlehawks made a statement with this release. It told everybody, Becht can succeed and the St. Louis Battlehawks will be ok.
To me, even with the increased talent in the league AJ McCarron may be the league’s best player and quarterback, even at 34. The next question becomes, does he still want to compete in the UFL? He clearly has the talent to compete and excel, but where? If the former Alabama collegiate two-time champ wants to play in Birmingham it may be a discussion to have with Skip Holtz. Holtz generally enjoys playing with mobile quarterbacks. That stated it might be intriguing for Skip Holtz to have a thoroughbred of McCarron’s talent in the stable. Ken Whisenhunt seems to do well with former St. Louis stud quarterbacks that really have an ability to throw the ball well. Depending on the availability of Perez or Ta’amu, he may fond a home there. I think if he ended up in San Antonio, he would do well there as well. Although I think he would do very well in Michigan, they currently have 3 strong QBs there. Again this is all a wait and see and a ton of speculation on my behalf. Either way, whatever he does I hope he is happy. I did mention that heart. He should just stay away from the politics.
I’m not sure you’ll see this reflected in the transactions. Because McCarron hasn’t re-signed with the league, there’s really nothing to release him from. While St. Louis is “giving up” his rights that they retained at the end of last season, I don’t know if the UFL would report that on their transaction page.
The Battlehawks Twitter page has acknowledged the move and Becht has given quotes to St. Louis media about the move (hyperlinked in the article). That may be as “official” as we’re going to get of an announcement.
As always Greg, Thank you. You are very good for the league and its fans.
I appreciate the kind words, Ken.