After four straight seasons in the playoffs and a new head coach taking over, the new-look Birmingham Stallions have finally put their 2026 roster together as they made the final tough moves made.
Roster cutdowns arrived and it was a painful one for the Stallions that is completely stacked with their roster. New Stallions head coach A.J. McCarron made the tough decisions as he let 14 players go from he training camp roster. Here are the players that have been reported by UFL insider James Larsen and State of the Stallions:
Nate Noel, RB
Cam Echols-Luper, WR
Marcus Simms, WR
Jude Wolfe, TE
Chris Chernak Jr., OT
Preston Wilson, OG
Joey Lombard, OL
Marvin Wilson, DT
Ryder Anderson, DT
Desmond Little, DE
Phillip Webb, DE
Johnny Buchanan, LB
Jesse Johnson III, CB
Omar Jarvis, S
Breaking down the most surprising cuts from Birmingham Stallions' roster
On offense, two key receivers who has been in spring football for a long time surprisingly did not make the team with Cam Echols-Luper and Marcus Simms. Injuries and a midseason trade plagued Simms' 2025 season, but he was an All-UFL selection in 2024 after going for 426 yards and three touchdowns that season. Echols-Luper had spent the last two years in the CFL, but he was on the New Jersey Generals of the USFL in 2022 and 2023 as he was apart of one of the best spring football teams to not win a title with that 2022 Generals team.
Looking at the defense, defensive tackle Marvin Wilson is a name that sticks out as he has been on the Stallions over the last two seasons in the UFL, racking up 45 tackles, six tackles for loss, three sacks, one forced fumble, and one pass deflection in 20 games. Linebacker Johnny Buchanan was another surprise as he has spring football experience from when he played for the St. Louis Battlehawks with McCarron back in 2024.
McCarron had a lot of tough decisions, especially at wide receiver as he talked about how deep that group was at UFL Media Day. Now that the roster has been put together, the Stallions must shift the focus to the first game of the UFL season against the Louisville Kings on the road.