With UFL training camp beginning next week, it’s time to delve into each quarterback room within the XFL conference. Please bear in mind that any projections provided are informed estimations and not definitive. Additionally, rosters are subject to change during training camp. I have already broken down each quarterback room in the USFL conference, read here.
Spring football veteran quarterback Luis Perez, who joined the Renegades midway through last season and led them to a championship, is officially returning for the 2024 season. Not only that, but Arlington has also brought in quarterbacks Holton Ahlers and Lindsey Scott over the offseason. Both were in the 2023 draft class and got looks from NFL teams as undrafted free agents.
Perez changed the entire trajectory of Arlington’s offense, which had struggled under different quarterbacks until his arrival. In two playoff games — the XFL South Championship and XFL League Championship — he threw for 577 yards and six touchdowns with a 71.4% completion rate as he helped the Renegades go from a team with a 4-6 regular-season record to 2023 XFL Champions. With all his success in Arlington last year, it’s hard to see why he wouldn’t be the team’s starter to begin this upcoming season.
Meanwhile, Scott and Ahlers are two promising quarterbacks who can be long-term pieces for the Renegades. Scott was the Walter Payton Award recipient and an FCS All-American for his collegiate performance in 2022, which saw him throw for 4,868 yards and 60 touchdowns (FCS record) with a 70.9% completion rate at Incarnate Word. The dual-threat also had 132 carries for 712 yards and 11 touchdowns during his senior campaign. Ahlers, a lefty quarterback, was a four-year starter at East Carolina and threw for 13,938 yards and 97 touchdowns with a 61.0% completion rate in 55 career games.
If Perez was not in the picture, the Renegades would still be in good hands at quarterback with either Scott or Ahlers. However, Perez will be returning after turning down a CFL offer for more money, meaning Scott and Ahlers will likely be in backup roles for the upcoming season.
The Renegades also added Drew Plitt earlier this month. Plitt was Arlington’s starter to begin the 2023 XFL season. However, he struggled and was benched after two games. With all the talent in the Renegades’ quarterback room, Plitt is likely to be the odd man out when roster cutdowns come.
Jordan Ta’amu sideline Interview, D.C. Defenders 2023 (ESPN)
D.C. Defenders
Jordan Ta’amu*
Jalan McClendon
Deondre Francois
Barring any extraordinary circumstances, Jordan Ta’amu is expected to again be the Defenders’ starting quarterback for the upcoming season. It’s really a no-brainer with this one. Ta’amu, the 2023 XFL Offensive Player of the Year, finished the 2023 XFL regular season third in both passing yardage and passing touchdowns (1,894 yards and 14 touchdowns). He added 298 yards and three touchdowns on the ground as D.C. finished with a league-best 9-1 regular season record.
With the USFL’s Tampa Bay Bandits, Ta’amu threw for a league-high 2,014 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2022. However, he also threw for a league-high 12 interceptions as his Bandits finished short of the playoffs – with a 4-6 record. While he was inconsistent in his stint with the Bandits in 2022, he excelled with a change of scenery after joining the Defenders in 2023. With Ta’amu as the starting signal-caller in each contest, D.C.’s offense was the best in the XFL last season – ranking first in both PFF offensive efficiency (77.7) and passing efficiency (82.6). He was also with the 2020 XFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks, where he was third in passing yardage (1,050 yards) through five weeks before the league shut down.
Ta’amu’s UFL status has been up in the air until recently, and his decision to return is a big one. Without his top two receiving threats in Lucky Jackson and Chris Blair from last season, it will be interesting to see who becomes his top targets this season. Preston Williams (newcomer) and Josh Hammond (returner) are names that come to mind.
Meanwhile, both Jalan McClendon and Deondre Francois joined the Defenders via the Dispersal Drafts process held for players on dissolving teams from the merger. Both have similar strengths to Ta’amu as dual-threats.
Last season, the Defenders occasionally utilized D’Eriq King, who will not return, in certain packages that highlighted his scrambling ability. Perhaps McClendon or Francois will be used in a similar way in 2024.
XFL Orlando Guardians Quarterback Quinten Dormady, Saturday April 8, 2023.
San Antonio Brahmas
Quinten Dormady*
Chase Garbers
Tom Flacco
The Brahmas have a completely new-look quarterback room under their new coaching staff led by Wade Phillips. Quinten Dormady joined San Antonio from the Orlando Guardians via the Dispersal Drafts process, while Chase Garbers and Tom Flacco were claimed more recently during free agency. Out of the three, Dormady will likely be the starter for the Brahmas.
During the 2023 XFL season, Dormady took over as their starting signal-caller for the Guardians in week five after sitting out multiple weeks earlier in the season due to allegations of sharing plays with other teams. After taking over, he was able to maintain his starting role for the rest of the season.
Although the Guardians finished with an XFL-worst 1-9 record last XFL season, Dormady generally played well and showed flashes with Orlando. Overall, he had 1,507 passing yards and 10 touchdowns with a 68.3% completion rate in seven games, including four starts. He led Orlando to their only win of the season over the eventual XFL runner-up Defenders, 37-36. In the game, he threw for a season-high 328 yards and three touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Garbers was most recently with the Oakland Raiders, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2022. The Raiders released him as part of final roster cutdowns last summer. Garbers had been a four-year starter at Cal – accounting for 6,580 yards and 50 touchdowns in 36 collegiate games.
Tom Flacco is the 29-year-old brother of NFL quarterback Joe Flacco. In college, he stood out over two seasons at Towson as a graduate transfer from Rutgers – throwing for 6,352 yards and 50 touchdowns in 24 games. He was a Walter Payton Award finalist and All-CAA selection in both seasons with the Tigers.
It’s worth noting that Brahmas offensive coordinator A.J. Smith has a strong track record in spring football with quarterbacks.
2020 XFL Roughnecks quarterback P.J. Walker was the league’s passing leader (1,338 yards and 15 touchdowns) through five weeks in Smith’s system until the league shutdown. Houston was also undefeated up until that point. Walker went on to earn an NFL opportunity and has stuck around in the pros since.
While the road was a little bumpier with quarterbacks Brandon Silvers and Cole McDonald during the 2023 XFL season, the Roughnecks still finished with an impressive 7-3 record and were the top seed in the XFL South Divisional Championship with Smith’s offense.
With all that said, I have high hopes for what the Brahmas can do this season with their offense led by Smith off the field and Dormady on the field.
To college football fans, A.J. McCarron is undoubtedly the most known quarterback in the UFL. He won three national championships at Alabama in 2010, 2012, and 2013 and won the Maxwell Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, and Maxwell Award for his senior-season performance in 2013. Despite all his collegiate success, he was only drafted in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.
He spent three seasons with the Bengals before signing with the Buffalo Bills as a free agent. He has also spent time with the Oakland Raiders, Houston Texans, Atlanta Falcons, and just last year, the Bengals for a second stint.
In 18 career NFL games, McCarron has totaled 1,192 passing yards and six touchdowns on a 63.1% completion rate. More recently, he spent the 2023 XFL season with the Battlehawks, where he led the league in passing touchdowns (24), completion rate (68.8%), and passer rating (108.4).
All signs point to McCarron maintaining his starting role from last XFL season, with Brandon Silvers and Manny Wilkins as second-stringers and third-stringers, respectively. I’m sure McCarron and the rest of the Battlehawks have a sour taste in their mouths from barely missing the playoffs with a 7-3 record last season. We’ll see how that translates into on-field success in 2024.
Meanwhile, Silvers has quite a history in spring football leagues, having been part of the AAF, 2020 XFL, and 2023 XFL. With the Roughnecks last XFL season, he started eight games and threw for 1,551 yards and 13 touchdowns – leading Houston to a 7-3 record and an XFL South Divisional Championship berth.
Wilkins was a three-year starter out of Arizona State but had trouble finding opportunities in the NFL after going undrafted in 2019. He was with the Battlehawks last season and saw no game action.
