Ben DiNucci put up big numbers with the Sea Dragons, leading the league in passing yardage, and could do the same with the Battlehawks. (twitter.com)
The St. Louis Battlehawks have decided to move on from A.J. McCarron as their starting quarterback, without anyone to step in and take his place. That process of searching for a new starting QB is ongoing. Becht has a hell of a sales pitch: He runs a pro-style offense with coordinator Bruce Gradkowski and has some of the most talented skill position players in the UFL.
“We do have a short list of players we really like” at the position, Becht told St. Louis media after McCarron’s release. “We are going to take some time, go through the process and find the right piece.” That right piece could come from a list I put together of six possible, realistic replacements for McCarron, big shoes to fill on a playoff team with high expectations for 2025.
Chevan Cordeiro: The rookie out of San Jose State was a first round draft pick of the Battlehawks in the College Draft. Though he hasn’t signed a letter of intent, Cordeiro’s NFL options seem bleak at this point. He inked a deal with the Seattle Seahawks as a rookie free agent following the NFL Draft but was let go after rookie minicamp. He hasn’t signed with a team since then. Given his lack of NFL experience, it may be a tall order to ask him to step in and replicate the production of McCarron. However, because St. Louis already has his rights, he’s also the most likely on this list to at least come in and compete for the starting job. At worst, he’d be a promising backup, groomed for a starting role down the line.
Ben DiNucci: It was DiNucci’s Seattle Sea Dragons that kept the Battlehawks out of the XFL playoffs in 2023 thanks to a complicated tiebreaker. DiNucci put up big numbers with the Sea Dragons, leading the league in passing yardage, and could do the same with the Battlehawks. He had a brief stint in camp with the Buffalo Bills this summer and worked out for one team during the season, but has otherwise been off NFL radars. His strength of getting the ball out quickly, which he did under offensive coordinator June Jones in Seattle, compares favorably to Gradkowski’s hybrid West Coast offense in St. Louis.
Jacob Eason: A fourth round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in the 2020 NFL Draft, Eason has bounced around camp rosters and practice squads since then. That ability to pick up a variety of different offenses quickly will be an asset in the limited amount of time he’d have to process the playbook given the truncated UFL training camp. He’s not going to “wow” anyone with his wheels, but the Battlehawks offense doesn’t often ask the QB to run the ball. Eason is someone spring football fans have been clamoring for now for a few years; the time feels right for him to make the jump, with a short stint on the Green Bay Packers this summer the only stop on his 2024 resume.
Trace McSorley: Another player who has been sought after by spring football fans for a few years, McSorley would offer more mobility at the position than McCarron did, potentially opening up new wrinkles for the offense. The former Penn State Nittany Lion has been on-and-off NFL rosters and practice squads since being drafted in the sixth round by the Baltimore Ravens in 2019. His last bite at the apple came with the Washington Commanders in training camp this season. McSorley is the kind of player Becht was speaking about when he said after McCarron’s release, “If you have been on the practice squad for a couple years, what are you doing? You’re sitting there. You’re running scout team. You probably need to show the NFL what you can do. Our offense translates. This is the platform to do it.”
Max Duggan: I wrote in September that Duggan could be a name on UFL radars after NFL teams made their final training camp cuts. If Becht really wants to get younger at the position, many of the names above are only a few years younger than McCarron. Duggan is a decade younger and has big-game experience having played in a College Football National Championship. He and Cordeiro both have youth on their side, but Duggan is more likely to be able to step in and start right away. He’s not the ideal height, though he offers some of the rushing upside that McSorley does.
Mason Fine: The NFL isn’t the only league the Battlehawks could look to for their quarterback; there are players with CFL experience who are free agents and who may jump at the chance to play on a stacked St. Louis offense. One of those players could be Mason Fine. Fine set passing records at North Texas, completing over 60% of his throws for 91 touchdowns and 32 interceptions. His NFL opportunities dried up quickly, with just a tryout with the Chicago Bears to his name. He went up north and played three seasons with Saskatchewan, starting six games. Fine’s resume there isn’t sparkling, but he’s a potential fallback option if St. Louis gets no takers from recent NFL players.
4 thoughts on “Six options at QB for the St. Louis Battlehawks to replace A.J. McCarron”
On your shortlist I believe Ben DiNucci is the one. I hope Cordeiro becomes the number 3, so he has time to show the Battlehawks what he can or can’t do and get a better understanding of his impact on the draft. If the team flops 34,000 fans will become 24,000, in no time and we don’t want that. The only time I saw Jacob Eason, he did not perform well, but he is also on my list of UFL prospects as is Max Duggan. Max Duggan should be a number 2 to start wherever he signs , but I could see him climbing that ladder. Trace McSorley is on the list as well, but to me he is not close to the caliber of McCarron. To me, you don’t need a runner. You need someone to distribute the ball and be consistent with his throws. It would not surprise me if last year the Battlehawks lead the league in drops, yet McCarron still completed 66.7% of his throws over the last two years. To me that means someone that they need someone who consistently throws a good ball. DiNucci gets picked sometimes, but he is a playmaker. I have seen Nathan Peterman play in a game for the Bears and he excelled, even though the team was not all that good he was playing on. His overall numbers though 4 TD to 13 Int is not good, so it may have just been a good day, but I certainly believed in him that day. The playmakers with good upside to me include DiNucci and Matt Corral. Though each has their own brand of risk the rewards could be high. Reid Sinnett (130 Completions on 206 attempts for a 63.1 completion percentage for 1,233 yards with 6 TDs and 5 Ints on poor Brahmas and Roughnecks teams. John Wohlford and former Gamblers high draft pick Chase Brice. I have not seen Chase Brice play, but somehow I really feel he may be a real good one. That stated any of these guys will consistently get the ball in their playmaker’s hands and that is what the Battlehawks need so to me I would have Wolhford and Sinnett fight it out to top billing, with Chase Brice trying to show what he can when he can. If you can sign DiNucci or Corral, however, you may just have to. It seems to me anyone they sign will only be better with Darrius Sheppard to throw to. Denzel Mims and Andy Isabella might end up being great, but to give them a chance to find their way have Darrius Sheppard to show them the way. Sorry if it seems jumbled. I hope it made sense.
Good thoughts here. Wolford is a worthy name to bring up.
Matt Corral is a starting QB, the Panthers didn’t give him a chance when he played with Panthers. While playing for the Stallions he had Martinez as starting Quarterback.
Just a note, when Skip Holtz was on his radio talk show last week, he mentioned Alex McGough and Adrian Martinez as quarterbacks he was keeping tabs on. He did not mention Matt Corral. Could that be a sign?
Also interesting….. It is being reported that AJ McCarron is talking that he will be back and he is looking forward to revenge against the Battlehawks. It seems he is still politicking. Quarterbacks are really supposed to be unflappable and above it all. It’s a good thing he is so talented and a good teammate.
I do wonder, however, if Billy Joel wrote the Angry Young Man for AJ. The words do kind of fit….maybe not fully, but the spirit of the song is right on. When you think about his comparison of the USFL vs the XFL when he felt 5 XFL teams survived and only 3 USFL teams, survived even though the Roughnecks were really the Gamblers. Even if it were that way, why do you have to say it. Then to talk about the salaries and how people are retiring, because they can do better elsewhere, when there were reports the XFL lost 60 million and that the USFL is not profitable either. Complaining about the Offensive Cordinator’s play calls while on national television is not going to endear you to team management. I am not saying he is flat out wrong on any of this, but sometimes it’s good to just drink the Kool-Aid.
On your shortlist I believe Ben DiNucci is the one. I hope Cordeiro becomes the number 3, so he has time to show the Battlehawks what he can or can’t do and get a better understanding of his impact on the draft. If the team flops 34,000 fans will become 24,000, in no time and we don’t want that. The only time I saw Jacob Eason, he did not perform well, but he is also on my list of UFL prospects as is Max Duggan. Max Duggan should be a number 2 to start wherever he signs , but I could see him climbing that ladder. Trace McSorley is on the list as well, but to me he is not close to the caliber of McCarron. To me, you don’t need a runner. You need someone to distribute the ball and be consistent with his throws. It would not surprise me if last year the Battlehawks lead the league in drops, yet McCarron still completed 66.7% of his throws over the last two years. To me that means someone that they need someone who consistently throws a good ball. DiNucci gets picked sometimes, but he is a playmaker. I have seen Nathan Peterman play in a game for the Bears and he excelled, even though the team was not all that good he was playing on. His overall numbers though 4 TD to 13 Int is not good, so it may have just been a good day, but I certainly believed in him that day. The playmakers with good upside to me include DiNucci and Matt Corral. Though each has their own brand of risk the rewards could be high. Reid Sinnett (130 Completions on 206 attempts for a 63.1 completion percentage for 1,233 yards with 6 TDs and 5 Ints on poor Brahmas and Roughnecks teams. John Wohlford and former Gamblers high draft pick Chase Brice. I have not seen Chase Brice play, but somehow I really feel he may be a real good one. That stated any of these guys will consistently get the ball in their playmaker’s hands and that is what the Battlehawks need so to me I would have Wolhford and Sinnett fight it out to top billing, with Chase Brice trying to show what he can when he can. If you can sign DiNucci or Corral, however, you may just have to. It seems to me anyone they sign will only be better with Darrius Sheppard to throw to. Denzel Mims and Andy Isabella might end up being great, but to give them a chance to find their way have Darrius Sheppard to show them the way. Sorry if it seems jumbled. I hope it made sense.
Good thoughts here. Wolford is a worthy name to bring up.
Matt Corral is a starting QB, the Panthers didn’t give him a chance when he played with Panthers. While playing for the Stallions he had Martinez as starting Quarterback.
Just a note, when Skip Holtz was on his radio talk show last week, he mentioned Alex McGough and Adrian Martinez as quarterbacks he was keeping tabs on. He did not mention Matt Corral. Could that be a sign?
Also interesting….. It is being reported that AJ McCarron is talking that he will be back and he is looking forward to revenge against the Battlehawks. It seems he is still politicking. Quarterbacks are really supposed to be unflappable and above it all. It’s a good thing he is so talented and a good teammate.
I do wonder, however, if Billy Joel wrote the Angry Young Man for AJ. The words do kind of fit….maybe not fully, but the spirit of the song is right on. When you think about his comparison of the USFL vs the XFL when he felt 5 XFL teams survived and only 3 USFL teams, survived even though the Roughnecks were really the Gamblers. Even if it were that way, why do you have to say it. Then to talk about the salaries and how people are retiring, because they can do better elsewhere, when there were reports the XFL lost 60 million and that the USFL is not profitable either. Complaining about the Offensive Cordinator’s play calls while on national television is not going to endear you to team management. I am not saying he is flat out wrong on any of this, but sometimes it’s good to just drink the Kool-Aid.