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The St. Louis Battlehawks will take the field for the third consecutive spring and a second consecutive season in the UFL.
As they do, there will be a conspicuous absence at the quarterback position.
AJ McCarron, who started each of the last two seasons for the Battlehawks, will not be playing for the team in 2025. St. Louis released him on Nov. 15, 2024, and the 34-year-old did not sign with another UFL team.
McCarron was one of the UFL's most recognizable players. He was a star at Alabama, where he won three national championships and played nine NFL seasons. He performed well during his two seasons in St. Louis and helped the Battlehawks make the playoffs in 2024.
However, as Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht detailed, he believed it was time for his team to try something different at quarterback.
"Everything we asked AJ to do, he lived up to the expectations in two years," Becht told USA TODAY in a phone interview. "I just felt like, for me, it was time to just give other players and opportunity to shine and use this platform just like AJ did."
UFL SCHEDULE 2025: Dates, times, TV channel, more for every spring football game
Becht and McCarron first teamed up during the 2023 XFL season when Becht was a first-time head coach. The 11-year NFL veteran had served as a tight ends coach for the San Diego Fleet in the short-lived Alliance of American Football in 2019, but becoming an XFL head coach presented him with a new challenge.
"It was important for me early on to establish myself as a coach, and [us] as a team and offense," Becht said. The way to do that was to "get the best quarterback available early on."
That made McCarron, who wanted to play so his children could see him in action, a natural target and fit for St. Louis.
The Battlehawks enjoyed what Becht described as "a great season" during McCarron's first year as the team's starter. He helped lead them to a 7-3 record while completing 68.8% of his passes for 2,150 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions. However, St. Louis didn't make the XFL playoffs, as the Seattle Sea Dragons edged them in a tiebreaker for the last spot.
McCarron's performance was enough to earn him another look in the NFL. He signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as a backup quarterback, achieving one of his and Becht's shared goals.
"The goal was to try to get AJ back to the league after year one," Becht said. "We did that. He did that."
McCarron still left the door open for a spring football return. Ultimately, the two sides decided to run it back once more in 2024.
"We had another conversation about year two. He was on board," Becht explained. "We came to the decision to roll it back another time for another year."
The Battlehawks once again found success under McCarron in 2024. His numbers declined slightly – he completed 64.3% of his passes for 1,582 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and four interceptions – but St. Louis went 7-3 again and made it to the playoffs.
However, after failing to win a postseason game, Becht found himself wrestling with questions about whether to bring McCarron, who turned 34 in September, back or to take a new approach.
"For me, my perspective was, 'OK, can we handle moving forward and just having three new guys because we trust the staff, the system and what we're doing?'" Becht said.
Ultimately, Becht felt like the answer to that was yes, as he had his "bearings down" after spending two seasons in charge of the team. That led the Battlehawks to release McCarron, who wasn't pleased with the Battlehawks' decision, or at least how it was communicated to him.
McCarron revealed in an appearance on the "McCready and Siskey" podcast shortly after his release that he found out about it from his son. That left McCarron hoping to land with another UFL team so he could exact revenge on the Battlehawks.
"If there’s any way possible, I want to come back with a vengeance and I want to face them twice," McCarron said. "I want to go to somebody that faces them twice a year and put it on them. We’ll see if there ends up being a fit and if it ends up working out, but I just felt like it wasn’t done the right way."
McCarron remains unsigned and does not appear to be planning to play during the 2025 UFL season.
Despite the tense parting, Becht continues to hold the veteran in high regard.
"I got a tremendous respect and admiration for AJ [and] what he brought to the table," Becht said. "It was always a year-to-year deal with AJ because of his age [and] where he was in his career."
The Battlehawks enter the 2025 UFL season with just one quarterback returning to their roster, Manny Wilkins. He is competing with newcomers Max Duggan and Chevan Cordeiro for the starting job.
Duggan is the player to watch in the group. He was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the seventh-round pick of the 2023 NFL draft after leading TCU to a national championship game appearance. Becht called him a "really talented quarterback" with a "big arm" and a "serious demeanor."
Meanwhile, UFL executive vice president Daryl Johnston identified Duggan as "one of the bigger names" entering the league in 2025 in a phone interview with USA TODAY.
That said, Becht noted all three quarterbacks were in the running to start before the 2025 NFL season. He also explained he's "a one quarterback guy," so he isn't likely to split time between the quarterbacks by design in actual game action.
As such, the competition represents a significant shift between Becht's first two seasons in charge of the Battlehawks, when McCarron was firmly entrenched as the starter.
But Becht is relishing his chance to pivot and try something different in the ever-changing world of spring football.
"I don't know if we're ever really tied to anybody," Becht said, referencing McCarron's release. "This isn't the NFL. Everybody has a one-year contract.
"And again, it's just assessing the situation. It didn't have anything to do with AJ's performance. It just had everything to do with the opportunity to allow some other players to shine."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why Battlehawks parted with AJ McCarron, started fresh at QB in 2025
Continue reading...
As they do, there will be a conspicuous absence at the quarterback position.
AJ McCarron, who started each of the last two seasons for the Battlehawks, will not be playing for the team in 2025. St. Louis released him on Nov. 15, 2024, and the 34-year-old did not sign with another UFL team.
McCarron was one of the UFL's most recognizable players. He was a star at Alabama, where he won three national championships and played nine NFL seasons. He performed well during his two seasons in St. Louis and helped the Battlehawks make the playoffs in 2024.
However, as Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht detailed, he believed it was time for his team to try something different at quarterback.
"Everything we asked AJ to do, he lived up to the expectations in two years," Becht told USA TODAY in a phone interview. "I just felt like, for me, it was time to just give other players and opportunity to shine and use this platform just like AJ did."
UFL SCHEDULE 2025: Dates, times, TV channel, more for every spring football game
Why Battlehawks moved on from AJ McCarron
Becht and McCarron first teamed up during the 2023 XFL season when Becht was a first-time head coach. The 11-year NFL veteran had served as a tight ends coach for the San Diego Fleet in the short-lived Alliance of American Football in 2019, but becoming an XFL head coach presented him with a new challenge.
"It was important for me early on to establish myself as a coach, and [us] as a team and offense," Becht said. The way to do that was to "get the best quarterback available early on."
That made McCarron, who wanted to play so his children could see him in action, a natural target and fit for St. Louis.
The Battlehawks enjoyed what Becht described as "a great season" during McCarron's first year as the team's starter. He helped lead them to a 7-3 record while completing 68.8% of his passes for 2,150 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions. However, St. Louis didn't make the XFL playoffs, as the Seattle Sea Dragons edged them in a tiebreaker for the last spot.
McCarron's performance was enough to earn him another look in the NFL. He signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as a backup quarterback, achieving one of his and Becht's shared goals.
"The goal was to try to get AJ back to the league after year one," Becht said. "We did that. He did that."
McCarron still left the door open for a spring football return. Ultimately, the two sides decided to run it back once more in 2024.
"We had another conversation about year two. He was on board," Becht explained. "We came to the decision to roll it back another time for another year."
The Battlehawks once again found success under McCarron in 2024. His numbers declined slightly – he completed 64.3% of his passes for 1,582 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and four interceptions – but St. Louis went 7-3 again and made it to the playoffs.
However, after failing to win a postseason game, Becht found himself wrestling with questions about whether to bring McCarron, who turned 34 in September, back or to take a new approach.
"For me, my perspective was, 'OK, can we handle moving forward and just having three new guys because we trust the staff, the system and what we're doing?'" Becht said.
Ultimately, Becht felt like the answer to that was yes, as he had his "bearings down" after spending two seasons in charge of the team. That led the Battlehawks to release McCarron, who wasn't pleased with the Battlehawks' decision, or at least how it was communicated to him.
McCarron revealed in an appearance on the "McCready and Siskey" podcast shortly after his release that he found out about it from his son. That left McCarron hoping to land with another UFL team so he could exact revenge on the Battlehawks.
"If there’s any way possible, I want to come back with a vengeance and I want to face them twice," McCarron said. "I want to go to somebody that faces them twice a year and put it on them. We’ll see if there ends up being a fit and if it ends up working out, but I just felt like it wasn’t done the right way."
McCarron remains unsigned and does not appear to be planning to play during the 2025 UFL season.
Despite the tense parting, Becht continues to hold the veteran in high regard.
"I got a tremendous respect and admiration for AJ [and] what he brought to the table," Becht said. "It was always a year-to-year deal with AJ because of his age [and] where he was in his career."
Max Duggan headlines potential AJ McCarron replacements
The Battlehawks enter the 2025 UFL season with just one quarterback returning to their roster, Manny Wilkins. He is competing with newcomers Max Duggan and Chevan Cordeiro for the starting job.
Duggan is the player to watch in the group. He was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the seventh-round pick of the 2023 NFL draft after leading TCU to a national championship game appearance. Becht called him a "really talented quarterback" with a "big arm" and a "serious demeanor."
Meanwhile, UFL executive vice president Daryl Johnston identified Duggan as "one of the bigger names" entering the league in 2025 in a phone interview with USA TODAY.
That said, Becht noted all three quarterbacks were in the running to start before the 2025 NFL season. He also explained he's "a one quarterback guy," so he isn't likely to split time between the quarterbacks by design in actual game action.
As such, the competition represents a significant shift between Becht's first two seasons in charge of the Battlehawks, when McCarron was firmly entrenched as the starter.
But Becht is relishing his chance to pivot and try something different in the ever-changing world of spring football.
"I don't know if we're ever really tied to anybody," Becht said, referencing McCarron's release. "This isn't the NFL. Everybody has a one-year contract.
"And again, it's just assessing the situation. It didn't have anything to do with AJ's performance. It just had everything to do with the opportunity to allow some other players to shine."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why Battlehawks parted with AJ McCarron, started fresh at QB in 2025
Continue reading...
