The St. Louis Battlehawks added 20 players from USFL and other XFL teams in the dispersal drafts that followed the merger of the football circuits into the United Football League for 2024.

The Battlehawks did not add a quarterback among those selections. But St. Louis did protect the two quarterbacks on its roster from last season from the draft process, and Battlehawks coach Anthony Becht said the team still is hoping for the return of its 2023 starting quarterback – AJ McCarron.

“The original plan for AJ was to convince him to play with the Battlehawks,” Becht said during an appearance on KSDK-TV in St. Louis. “He wanted to get back in the (NFL). He wanted to get that chance. He did both of those things. He took care of business. He did his part. He came into the league, was a really good quarterback, got to go the Bengals, active roster – all those things were great.

“So now it’s just: OK, what are we going to do this year? I want all those guys back. Nick Tiano won us a game against Vegas. We really like him. We think he’s starter in this league. Manny Wilkins, our third guy last year, we think he can win in this league, so there’s going to be competition across the board. Everybody’s going to have to earn it.

“We’ll know that quarterback room, what that’ll look like here in a couple of weeks. AJ’s taking some time with his family. We can start talking about what that looks like, but regardless of who’s playing quarterback, we like our room from last year. A lot of teams added some new pieces. We have consistency. We like what we got. Another year in the system, guys get better.”

After seven seasons in the NFL, McCarron was out of the league after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during an Atlanta Falcons’ preseason game on Aug. 21, 2021, and spending the year on injured reserve.

McCarron made a return to the field with St. Louis last year, and he led the league in touchdown passes, completion percentage and passing-efficiency rating.

The Cincinnati Bengals signed the former Alabama All-American for their practice squad on Sept. 23. When starting quarterback Joe Burrow sustained a torn ligament in his right wrist in the Bengals’ 34-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Nov. 16, McCarron moved into the backup role for Jake Browning.

“His story is great, and his story is what every other player in our league wants to be like,” Becht said. “Every position on our team wants to have that kind of success – join the team, win the spot, play well and get their chance again or for the first time at the next level. His story was great, and I think every player is trying to do that same thing.”

The United Football League took four teams from the eight-team XFL and four teams from the eight-team USFL to turn two spring football leagues into one.

“When you’re talking about longevity, having a product that can last, merging two of the big spring leagues makes sense,” Becht said. “You can’t have two. You just can’t sustain over time. It’s too much. To now have all of the fan bases watching this one league, now the UFL, all the national networks – FOX, ESPN, ABC – that’s where they’re going to find all the games, it’s going to be great.”

The United Football League starts training camp on Feb. 24.

“The goal is to keep all three quarterbacks and return them again to keep that quarterback room and that continuity,” Becht said.

The UFL will kick off its inaugural season on March 30, when the Birmingham Stallions visit the Arlington Renegades.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.