As UFL teams open training camp, the makeup of each team’s 64-man roster is a little different. Below is a position-by-position breakdown of the numbers at each spot for the eight UFL squads as of press time (keeping in mind these numbers can and will change throughout camp).
Quarterbacks
The magic number at this position is three. All eight teams are carrying just three QBs on their initial training camp roster, and teams are expected to keep three once opening weekend commences. A few teams last season entered camp with four quarterbacks, but that’s when training camp rosters were at 75. Most of the competition at this position in camp will be for the starting spot or the immediate backup, rather than being on or off the roster. That’s not to say QBs won’t play themselves out of a job either; just like in any other sport, UFL general managers are constantly looking for ways to upgrade rosters, and if a talented QB shows interest in entering the UFL in the next month, you better believe a team’s staff will find a spot for them.
Running Backs
This is where teams begin to differentiate themselves from one another in terms of roster composition. Each team will bring four backs to camp except Birmingham, St. Louis and Arlington, who have three. The Renegades and Battlehawks both had late scratches due to retirements, Devin Darrington and Mataeo Durant respectively. As this was being written, San Antonio also went down a back when Hassan Hall was placed on the suspended list. These teams may try to acquire a fourth one before long. The top three backs for the Stallions return from 2024, and they didn’t bring in any competition to push them. Most teams carried at least four in the pre-season last year with Houston rostering six. I would expect teams to carry three to begin the season. There are no true fullbacks on anyone’s roster.
Tight Ends
Michigan, Arlington, and St. Louis have three tight ends, and all other teams have four except San Antonio, which has two. Brahmas offensive coordinator A.J. Smith’s offense doesn’t utilize traditional tight ends, so it wouldn’t be a shock if only one survived cut-down day. All others will likely carry three, though the Battlehawks had just two last season, and both return. D.C. brings four to camp and they kept four on the roster at the end of last season. We’ll see if they have enough depth elsewhere to do that again as a fourth tight end on a 50-man roster is quite the luxury, especially when the team’s long snapper, Trae Barry, can play TE in a pinch.
Offensive Line
St. Louis is the only team carrying 10 offensive linemen into camp, with all others taking 11 or 12. The Battleahwks return eight of their linemen from last year, and if they expect to keep the majority of them, that could explain the lack of additional depth. Eight will be the magic number for most teams, with five starters, two active backups and one likely to be inactive on gamedays. Even then, this is one position that suffers due to the smaller, 50-man rosters as teams would likely prefer to keep one more lineman dressed for games, but the numbers make it difficult to do so.
Defensive Linemen
Last year, half the teams in the UFL operated out of a base three-man front, while the other half lined up with four down linemen. That can certainly affect the numbers brought to camp at both defensive line and linebacker. The other aspect that muddies the body count somewhat is the fact that we still haven’t come to a consensus on how to classify edge players. Are they defensive linemen? Or are they linebackers? I tried to go as strictly as I could by how players were listed on the transaction pages made public by UFL PR. So far, this position has the greatest variation in how many teams are carrying, likely due to the uncertainty surrounding where edge players land. Arlington, for example, has just nine players, but longtime DE Will Clarke, an edge, is listed at linebacker. St. Louis has eight D-Linemen, with just one true non-rush DE in Freedom Akinmoladun. All of the edge players are classified as linebackers. Then there’s San Antonio with 12 linemen.
On the interior, where it’s a little easier to identify players, St. Louis has seven, while Michigan is camping with just three. St. Louis runs a 3-4 under Donnie Abraham, so their tackles double as big ends in that formation. Michigan is a 4-3 scheme and they finished 2024 with three defensive tackles on the roster. The teams running odd-man fronts carried anywhere from three to five linemen on the roster last year, so this is a position that could experience several cuts as teams pare down to the final 50.
Linebackers
Again, some edge players are considered linebackers, at least by the league’s PR department. Arlington has 10 linebackers, but at least three of them are edges/outside linebackers. It’s the same situation in St. Louis: 10 linebackers with players like Pita Taumoepenu and Travis Feeney accomplished pass-rushers on the outside. On the other end of the spectrum, Birmingham has only five linebackers under contract. They finished last season with five on the roster. According to last year’s depth chart, they consider nickel their base, with just two linebackers on the field, so fewer players may be needed. Memphis has just four linebackers, all of them new from 2024. Most teams have six-to-seven to begin camp.
Defensive Backs
Defensive back and wide receiver are the position groups that tend to be the largest in training camp. Even with that being the case, the consistency here is surprising as all teams but one currently have either 13 or 14 defensive backs (Michigan has 12). Where the differences come is in the corner/safety split. The median number of safeties is five on a team, with likely one cut coming at the position. More cuts will come at corner, where some teams have nine or 10. Memphis and Michigan both carry the same number of corners as safeties. The consensus among teams best on end-of-season rosters in 2024 was that 10 is the key number of corners and safeties that will make the roster at the end of the month.
Special Teams
As with the quarterback position around the league, it’s possible every opening day specialist is already on each team’s roster. There are no kicker, punt, or long snapper competitions currently going on, though of course that could change at any point.
