Stallions waive All-USFL lineman on UFL’s cut day
Calvin Ashley earned All-USFL recognition as the right guard for the New Jersey Generals in 2023. On Sunday, the Birmingham Stallions waived the former Auburn lineman.
Kirk Kelley was the starting left guard for the New Orleans Breakers in 2023. On Sunday, the Memphis Showboats waived the former Troy lineman.
Ashley and Kelley serve as two examples with Alabama football roots of the concentration of talent in the United Football League caused by the merger of the USFL and the XFL into a single spring-football circuit. In the merger, the two eight-team leagues were reduced to one eight-team organization.
Among the teams who didn’t make the merger were the Generals and Breakers, sending Ashley and Kelley into the UFL’s dispersal-draft plan to redistribute the best of the displaced players.
On Sunday, the eight United Football League teams had to reduce their 75-player training-camp rosters to 58. Before the season kicks off on March 30, the rosters will be reduced again to 50 players.
Other players with Alabama football roots placed on waivers on Sunday included:
· Houston Roughnecks running back Ezra Gray (Alabama State)
· Memphis Showboats linebacker Dylan Moses (Alabama)
· Arlington Renegades tight end Jared Scott (Jacksonville State)
· D.C. Defenders wide receiver Trea Shropshire (UAB)
· Memphis Showboats offensive tackle Sidney Wells (UAB)
Gray was a two-year USFL veteran after playing for the Breakers in 2022 and the Showboats in 2023. Scott played for the Breakers in 2023. Shropshire and Wells are spring-football rookies.
A two-time All-SEC selection and the leading tackler for Alabama’s 2020 undefeated CFP national-championship team, Moses was attempting a comeback after spending the 2021 season on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ injured list.
Players from Alabama high schools and colleges who remain on UFL rosters include:
Arlington Renegades
· Tight end Sal Cannella (Auburn)
· Defensive lineman Davonte Lambert (Auburn)
· Defensive back Jared Mayden (Alabama)
· Offensive lineman Chris Owens (Alabama)
Birmingham Stallions
· Wide receiver Slade Bolton (Alabama)
· Guard Deonte Brown (Austin, Alabama)
· Wide receiver Myron Mitchell (Jasper, UAB)
· Wide receiver Marlon Williams (McGill-Toolen)
D.C. Defenders
· Defensive lineman T.J. Barnes (Enterprise)
· Long snapper Trae Barry (Spanish Fort, Jacksonville State)
Houston Roughnecks
· Tight end Braedon Bowman (South Alabama)
· Linebacker Reuben Foster (Auburn High, Alabama)
Memphis Showboats
· Wide receiver Dee Anderson (Alabama A&M)
· Defensive tackle Connor Christian (Jacksonville State)
· Safety T.J. Green (Sylacauga)
· Linebacker TJ Neal (Auburn)
· Linebacker Shaheed Salmon (Samford)
· Tight end Wes Saxton Jr. (Hueytown, South Alabama)
· Tight end Jay Jay Wilson (Auburn)
Michigan Panthers
· Defensive tackle Garrett Marino (UAB)
San Antonio Brahmas
· Wide receiver Jordan Veasy (Gadsden City, Faulkner)
· Offensive tackle John Yarbrough (Homewood)
St. Louis Battlehawks
· Quarterback AJ McCarron (St. Paul’s Episcopal, Alabama)
· Quarterback Brandon Silvers (Gulf Shores, Troy)
· Guard Dallas Warmack (Alabama)
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.