The NFL season is over, which means only one thing — the UFL season is just weeks away from kicking off. For the St. Louis Battlehawks, 2025 will be a year of change, primarily at the quarterback position. The team moved on from AJ McCarron, who piloted the team for its first two years, and replaced him with Max Duggan, the former TCU Horned Frog.
How will the change at QB affect the Battlehawks entering 2025? What other new faces do fans need to meet before the season begins? Where will the Battlehawks wind up when it’s all said and done? We’ll discuss all that and more here.
2024 Battlehawks Recap
Last season, the Battlehawks finished 7-3, good for first in the XFL Conference. The team won every single home game, a credit to the hometown fans who packed the stands for the team’s games. The team also had the league’s Offensive Player of the Year in Hakeem Butler and Special Teams Player of the Year in Chris Garrett. In 2023, the Battlehawks also had the league’s STPOY, Darrius Shepherd.
However, they came up short at home against the eventual league runners-up, the San Antonio Brahmas, in the conference championship game. This marked the team’s second straight 7-3 season — still with nothing to show for it.
Following the season, news broke that QB AJ McCarron would stop playing football and was looking to secure a podcast deal. The team also lost starting center Mike Panasiuk and left tackle Jaryd Jones-Smith to the NFL.
2025 Battlehawks Preview
Despite last season's unfortunate end, there is room for optimism in St. Louis. Butler re-signed with the team following a successful 2024 campaign, and the team also added two former NFL wideouts, Andy Isabella and Denzel Mims.
The team also added three new QBs, Duggan, Chevan Cordeiro, and Manny Wilkins. Duggan is a former TCU Horned Frog, Heisman finalist, and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. Cordeiro was the Battlehawks’ first-round pick in the 2024 UFL Draft and played his college ball at San Jose State, where he is the conference’s all-time leader in touchdowns responsible, total yards thrown, and completions.
Wilkins enters as the “incumbent” as he’s been with the team since 2023. In 2024, Wilkins started two games for the Battlehawks and threw for 305 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. He rushed for 141 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries.
New St. Louis Battlehawks Players and Coaches
The quarterbacks aren’t the only new faces — there are quite a few new players and coaches who will join the Battlehawks for the 2025 campaign.
The team selected multiple players in the UFL Draft, but only a handful will suit up for the team this season. Among them are former Vanderbilt offensive tackle Bradley Ashmore, who the team selected in the fourth round, and Isaiah Coe, a defensive tackle from Oklahoma who was selected in the sixth round.
The team’s second and third-round picks, Cody Schrader and Pheldarius Payne, are currently members of the Los Angeles Rams and Indianapolis Colts’ rosters, respectively.
While head coach Anthony Becht returns most of his staff, there is one new confirmed face — and one unknown. Longtime NFL lineman Marc Columbo will coach the Battlehawks’ offensive line, the team announced.
However, the team will need to find a new offensive coordinator following news that Bruce Gradkowski, who helmed that spot the past two seasons, would leave the UFL for a position with the Detroit Lions
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Detroit Lions are adding former NFL quarterback Bruce Gradkowski to their staff as an offensive assistant coach, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 6, 2025
Gradkowski — who played 11 years in the NFL with the Bucs, Raiders, Bengals, Steelers, and Browns — spent the past two seasons as the Offensive… pic.twitter.com/tmO2FEp4t9
How Will the Battlehawks Finish the Season?
By returning mostly the same team sans starting QB and making a few key additions, the Battlehawks are primed to return to the top half of the league this year. Many pundits call them a top-4 team, albeit third or fourth in the league behind the likes of the Birmingham Stallions, San Antonio Brahmas, and Michigan Panthers.
If one of the Battlehawks’ three QBs can step up and deliver in a way AJ McCarron couldn’t, and if the three-headed receiving monster of Butler, Isabella, and Mims can frustrate opposing defenses, there may be a chance for championship football in St. Louis for the first time in almost 25 years.