Houston Roughnecks: 2024 Summer Recap

After finishing with a league-worst 1-9 record in 2024, the Houston Roughnecks have seemingly been the most active team in the transaction wire over the summer.

Since the arrival of new general manager Will Lewis, Houston’s roster has undergone a massive overhaul. With summer winding down and the fall football season getting underway, here’s a recap of what the Roughnecks have been up to in preparing for the 2025 spring football season:

Cleaning House

Lewis has released more than 20 players to make room for the luggage he has brought. And the players released haven’t just been backups or third-stringers who barely saw the field for the Roughnecks last season. A handful of these guys were starters for Houston in 2024.

Personally, I was most surprised by the release of linebacker Reuben Foster. Foster, the former Alabama standout and 2017 first-round NFL draft selection, turned 30 years old in April and missed some time last season on the Injured Reserve. Nonetheless, he was still very much productive when healthy over his past two seasons in the UFL and USFL. He tallied 30 tackles, including 3.0 for a loss, in eight games with the Roughnecks during the 2024 season. He was also a key contributor on the 2023 USFL runner-up Pittsburgh Maulers, who touted arguably the best defense in the entire league. After he was released, the Arlington Renegades claimed his rights.

The releases of tailback Mark Thompson and linebacker Gabriel Sewell Jr. also come as surprises to UFL fans. Both were affected by injuries in 2024 coming off impressive All-USFL seasons in 2023. Thompson’s 2024 rushing production was about a third of what it had been in 2023 when he was the USFL’s Offensive Player of the Year. He ran for just 224 yards in 2024, after he had been the USFL’s rushing yardage leader in the year prior with 655. Meanwhile, Sewell Jr. ‘s production was also way down from the previous season, going from 60 tackles made with the Philadelphia Stars in 2023 to just 19 tackles in 2024.

Former Philadelphia Stars All-USFL defensive end Adam Rodriguez, safety Donald Rutledge Jr., defensive end Ronheen Bingham, cornerback Jimmy Moreland, and tight end Braedon Bowman were also starters for Houston last season, but will not return in 2025.

During the 2024 season, Rodriguez totaled 17 tackles and 1.0 sack, while Bingham had 22 tackles and 1.5 sacks from the edge. Both of these statlines represent slight decreases in production from the prior year for these players.

Meanwhile, Moreland made 36 tackles, good for fourth-highest on Houston, but had underwhelming ball production with only two pass breakups in ten games. The 2019 seventh-round NFL draft selection turned 29 last month. Rutledge Jr., who was tied for first in tackles made (52) on the Roughnecks in 2024 is still relatively young, having turned 27 years old this May so I doubt age played a factor in this release.

Bowman was eighth on Houston in receiving yardage with 65 yards on eight receptions. But in his defense, Houston’s offensive system isn’t exactly one favorable to tight ends in the pass-catching department.

Not only did the Roughnecks release Bowman, but they waived their two other tight ends from 2024 in Woody Brandom and Clint Sigg Jr.; Brandom missed six games with injury last season, while Sigg Jr. was a reserve and saw minimal action.

D’Juan Hines and Christian Sam were late-season additions to a banged up Houston linebacking corps. Both are veterans with ample professional football experience, having been around the scene since 2018. They have each been with at least six pro organizations, whether it be teams in the NFL, USFL, XFL, or UFL. Thanks to their experience, they were able to step into big defensive roles almost immediately upon joining the Roughnecks midseason. However, they just don’t seem to be in the big picture for Will Lewis.

Shamarious Gilmore, formerly of the Philadelphia Stars, started the first two games of the season for Houston at left guard before being unexpectedly released. The Roughnecks re-signed Gilmore later on in the season, but he never saw another snap. He earned a 74.6 PFF run-blocking grade and 55.8 PFF pass-blocking grade for the two contests he played in.

Defensive tackle Jefferey Johnson (24 years), safety Rashard Torrence II (22 years), and safety Jamari Brown (23 yeats) were all young, rotational defensive pieces for the Roughnecks last season who you’d think would be retained to have the opportunity to develop with the team. However, that wasn’t the case.

The Roughnecks also released veteran defensive tackle Toby Johnson, plus defensive linemen Keonte Schad and Ethan Westbrooks. All three players had relatively significant roles on Houston’s defense during the 2024 season.

Johnson was a two-time All-USFL honoree with the New Jersey Generals in 2022 and 2023, but couldn’t quite produce at the same rate in Houston. He also missed the last few games of the season on the Injured Reserve. Schad also notched All-USFL honors for his 26-tackle, 7.5-sack performance with the New Orleans Breakers in 2023. However, he didn’t perform at the same clip with the Roughnecks as he recorded 19 tackles and 0.5 sack in 2024. Westbrooks made 25 tackles, including 3.5 sacks in six games last season.

Ratliff-Williams caught 16 passes for 119 yards with the Roughnecks in 2024. He had been with the Houston organization, who were called the Gamblers in the USFL, since 2022.

Punter Hunter Niswander, long snapper Logan Klusman, plus reserve defensive backs Jai Nunn-Liddell and Mister Harriel make up Lewis’s remaining cuts.

Rookie Draft Selections

The Roughnecks have agreed to terms with six of the ten rookies they drafted in July’s UFL Rookie Draft. Notably, the number of rookie draftees they have signed is the most out of any UFL team. Meanwhile, there are four teams that haven’t signed a single rookie yet (e.g. Arlington, Birmingham, Memphis, San Antonio).

Defensive end Eyabi Okie, Houston’s first-round pick, highlights the rookies who have agreed to terms to play in the 2025 season thus far.

Okie was one of the most highly touted prospects in the 2018 college football recruiting class but couldn’t quite live up to the expectations. He was named to the SEC All-Freshman team in 2018 at Alabama, but was dismissed from the team in the summer of 2019 for unspecified reasons. A year later, the University of Houston dismissed him for “off-field problems”. He went on to be part of three more college teams: UT Martin, Michigan, and Charlotte.

Okie dominated at UT Martin before he transferred back to the power-five level as a graduate—moving to Michigan. With the Wolverines, he appeared in all 15 games, making two starts, netting 18 tackles, including 6.0 for a loss and 4.0 sacks for a Michigan squad that won the Big 10 Championship and advanced to the College Football Playoff. For his final season of eligibility, he moved once, this time to Charlotte where he would go on to earn 2023 All-AAC honors as he led his team in sacks (5.5) and tackles for loss (11.5).

If Okie can avoid some of the off-field issues he dealt with in college, he can be a valuable addition to Houston’s defensive front—one that will be heavily revamped when you look at all the roster turnover in that department.

Safety Tra Fluellen was taken in the second round by the Roughnecks. He entered the 2023 college football season on the Jim Thorpe Award (Best Defensive Back), but couldn’t finish the year due a torn ACL, which also hurt his prospects for the NFL. Overall, he recorded 197 tackles and 16 passes defended over three seasons at Middle Tennessee, including 104 tackles and 10 passes defended during his breakout junior season.

Fluellen has agreed to terms to play for Houston in 2025 and could headline a defensive secondary that has let a lot of its top pieces from a year ago walk (e.g. Donald Rutledge Jr., Jimmy Moreland).

The Roughnecks have also agreed to terms with both of the tight ends from their rookie draft class, Malcolm Epps (sixth round) and Geor’Quarius Spivey (tenth round). Since the Roughnecks have released all of their tight ends from their 2024 squad, the Roughnecks will be running with an entirely new tight end corps next season, which should be headlined by Epps and Spivey.

Spivey was one of the three members of the Houston rookie draft class who signed with an NFL team as an undrafted free agent—with linebacker Donovan Manuel and cornerback Rayshad Williams being the two others. However, none of them made 53-man rosters or practice squads.

Epps was a four-star recruit out of high school but couldn’t find the success many thought he would have in college, as he switched between three power-five schools throughout his collegiate career—Texas, USC, and Pitt. Spivey also took quite a unique college path, with two separate stints at the same school: Miss State, plus one season at TCU sprinkled in between. Due to transfer rules, he couldn’t partake in the 2023 season with the Bulldogs so he instead just practiced with them to stay in shape before the NFL Draft.

Former Oklahoma State linebacker Xavier Benson and former Texas Tech cornerback Malik Dunlap make up the rest of the Houston rookies who have signed contracts as of this article’s publication. Benson is a JUCO product who began his collegiate career at Tyler College before transferring to Oklahoma State, where he spent his last two years of eligibility. In both seasons, he was among the Cowboys’ leading tacklers, amassing 141 total tackles over 27 starts. Meanwhile, Dunlap spent his entire college career at the power-five level, beginning with three seasons at N.C. State and then three more at Texas Tech. He racked up 69 tackles, 23 pass breakups, and four interceptions over his last two seasons with the Red Raiders as a key piece of their defensive secondary.

Offensive guard Kam Stutts (third round), linebacker Donovan Manuel (fourth round), offensive center Hayden Gillum (fifth round), and CB Rayshad Williams (eighth round) make up the remainder of Houston’s 2024 rookie draft class. Each player is currently a free agent but has not yet committed to play for the Roughnecks next season.

For more info about Houston’s rookies, read here.

Will Lewis’ Luggage from San Antonio and Other Additions

Many of the new players who general manager Will Lewis has brought in are no strangers to the professional spring football scene. Tailback Brian Burt, wide receiver T.J. Vasher, tight end Cary Angeline, offensive guards Calvin Ashley and Maea Teuhema, offensive centers Sean Brown and Saige Young, defensive ends Jamir Jones and Vaughn Taylor Jr., defensive tackle Kamilo Tongamoa, and linebackers Ben Davis and Mike Scott all check this box, whether they have spent time in the UFL, XFL, or USFL over the past couple years.

Out of these signings, Ashley and Teuhema stand out to me the most. Both are extremely seasoned offensive linemen in the spring football realm. Ashley was a two-year starter at offensive guard with the USFL’s New Jersey Generals during their short existence and notched All-USFL honors in 2023. He was picked up by the Birmingham Stallions after the Generals dissolved with the USFL-XFL merger, but was surprisingly released as part of training camp roster cutdowns. Meanwhile, Teuhema, 27 years old, has been with eight different teams between the AAF, XFL, and USFL, since 2019, most recently the Brahmas.

Along with Teuhema, interestingly enough, Vasher, Jones, Tongamoa, Davis, and Scott were all members of the 2023 San Antonio Brahmas, who were managed by Will Lewis. The team didn’t get by well with a 2-8 overall record but it appears Lewis still has faith in some of the key contributors from his old team. Despite being starters on the 2023 San Antonio team, all of these players were not retained by the Brahmas’ new staff headlined by former NFL defensive coordinator Wade Phillips..

Lewis also claimed a handful of rookies who went undrafted in both NFL and UFL Rookie drafts. Quarterback Davius Richard, offensive guard Nick Correia, linebacker Juwan Mitchell, and safety Shawn Preston Jr. make up this group of players.

Richard was one of the best quarterbacks at the HBCU level in 2023, racking up countless accolades, including the Deacon Jones Award (Best HBCU Player), FCS All-American and MEAC Offensive Player of the Year honors. He certainly left his mark at North Carolina Central, ranking second all-time on the program’s career passing yardage list, throwing for 8,968 yards and 73 touchdowns with just 29 interceptions, while rushing for 2,575 yards and 44 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Correia, listed at 6-6 330 lbs, finished his college career at Rhode Island with 48 straight starts. He was a two-time all-conference selection with the Rams and got a look at the 2024 Hula Bowl, but has not been with any NFL teams since going undrafted.

Mitchell and Preston Jr. are both former power-five starters but failed to get NFL looks after going unselected in the past draft. Mitchell started his collegiate career at Butler Community College and finished at Colorado under Coach Prime, with stints at Texas, Tennessee, and Arizona State sandwiched in between. Mitchell’s most impressive season of his career came in 2020, when he led Texas in tackles made, with 62, as a junior. Most recently, he made 32 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss, in seven games (four starts) in 2023 with the Buffs. Unlike Mitchell, Preston Jr. spent his entire college career at one school, Mississippi State. Overall, Preston had 206 tackles, including 10.0 for a loss, 17 pass deflections, five interceptions, and two forced fumbles in 54 career games (26 games) over six seasons with the Bulldogs. He had one of the best seasons of his college career in 2023, finishing with 59 tackles and a career-best 81.1 PFF defensive grade.

Lewis also made some miscellaneous signings who don’t fit under any of the criteria above. On the offensive side, tailback Dezmon Jackson (Sam Houston), wide receiver Carlos Carriere (Central Michigan), and offensive lineman Samuel Jackson (UCF) were all eligible to be selected in the 2023 NFL Draft, but never were, and struggled to get professional looks from there. Carriere, who was selected by Lewis and the Brahmas in the 2023 XFL Rookie Draft, never actually signed with the team that drafted him after Lewis departed San Antonio. Now, he gets a chance next spring with the Roughnecks.

Something similar happened to former IFL wide receiver C.J. Windham, who signed a Letter of Intent with the Brahmas during the XFL offseason last year, but never even made it to training camp. Windham has been given another chance by Lewis on the new team he manages.

“We’re getting younger…faster…bigger [and]…stronger [this offseason],” Roughnecks head coach C.J. Johnson said in a town hall with fans over the summer. “We need football players [who want to go] to the NFL.”

Houston also agreed to terms with some new defensive pieces—defensive ends Carson Taylor and Cedric Wilcots, defensive back Marquis Wilson, cornerback Chu Ogbanna, and safety Gavin Robertson Jr.; all of these players are on the younger side and match what the Roughnecks are looking for in terms of speed, size, and strength.

Key Retainments

While Houston has parted ways with a good chunk of its production, there are a few pieces who have been re-signed for next season.

On the defensive front, defensive tackles Glen Logan and Olive Sagapolu have been retained. Logan was with the XFL Roughnecks in 2023 and stayed in Houston with the Gamblers-turned-Roughnecks last season. He made 11 tackles in a reserve role in 2024. Sagapolu was a key piece on the USFL’s Pittsburgh Maulers over two seasons before joining the Roughnecks after the merger. He had five tackles with Houston in 2024.

Linebacker J.T. Tyler and safety Markel Roby have also agreed to terms for next season. Both were full-time starters with the Roughnecks during the 2024 season and will be a couple of just a few key returners for C.J. Johnson’s squad next year. Roby was tied for first on the team in total tackles, with 52, while Tyler was third team-wide in tackles, with 50.

Cornerback Corn Elder, who made 28 tackles and one interception last year, will be back in H-Town for another season after re-signing last month. He is slated to pick up where he left off as a starter next year.

Tailbacks Kirk Merritt and T.J. Pledger are both slated to headline Houston’s backfield next year with Mark Thompson not returning. Merritt was limited to just two games last year due to injury, but showed promise in the action he saw, while Pledger ran for 254 yards on 77 carries.

The Roughnecks also re-signed offensive tackle Avery Gennesy and offensive center Jack Kramer; both starters from last year who should help out in creating rushing lanes for Merritt and Pledger, plus protecting the quarterback—whoever it may be in 2025.