To start 2024, the San Antonio Brahmas are preparing to start the three-stage process of building their roster for their first season in the UFL. Those three phases include selecting 42 players from their current roster, then selecting 20 players from XFL rosters for teams that will not play in the UFL in a mini-dispersal draft, and then selecting 23 more players from the pool of remaining players on team rosters that are not included in the XFL-USFL merger. This process has several potential variables, but within this complexity, the San Antonio Brahmas get opportunities to strengthen several position groups for the 2024 season.
During the 2023 XFL season, the Brahmas struggled on offense, which resulted in a 3-7 record during their inaugural season. As head coach Wade Phillips and offensive coordinator AJ Smith move from leading the Houston Roughnecks to San Antonio, it would be reasonable to assume that many Houston players could find themselves available to the Brahmas. In 2023, quarterback Brandon Silvers led the Roughnecks offense for eight games. Silvers finished 2023 on the bench during the Roughnecks playoff loss against Arlington; he could be a player of interest for San Antonio to add to their current group of five quarterbacks on their current roster.
Let’s look at what Brandon Silvers could provide to the Brahmas offense and compare his credentials to the quarterbacks on the San Antonio roster.
Brandon Silvers – Houston Roughnecks
During the 2023 XFL season, Brandon Silvers started eight games for the Houston Roughnecks. The Roughnecks were 6-2 when Silvers was their starter. Silvers had 156 completions on 262 pass attempts throughout those eight games, throwing 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions; he had a quarterback rating of 83.4 in 2023.
Brahmas Returning Quarterbacks from 2023
Three quarterbacks are returning from the 2023 season on the San Antonio roster. Jack Coan played in eight games for the Brahmas in 2023, going 2-5 as the starter and producing a quarterback rating 75.1 while throwing six touchdowns and six interceptions. Kurt Benkert played in two games for the Brahmas, going 0-1 as a starter while throwing one touchdown and two interceptions, leading to a 60.8 quarterback rating.
Paxton Lynch is also on the San Antonio roster after being acquired by the Brahmas after being waived by the Orlando Guardians in 2023. Lynch is a former NFL first-round draft pick for the Denver Broncos in 2016. After the 2017 season, he spent time with Seattle and Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019. After leaving the NFL, Lynch played and was on the roster for the Saskatchewan in the CFL (2021) and the Michigan Panthers of the USFL (2022) before joining the Guardians in 2023. Lynch was 0-5 as a starter for Orlando while throwing four touchdown passes and one interception, leading to an 88.4 quarterback rating.
Two New Prospects to Lead The Brahmas Offense
During the off-season between the end of the 2023 XFL season and the official merger announcement that created the UFL, the Brahmas added a few new quarterback prospects to their roster. Both of the new prospects have the potential to be dual-threat quarterbacks for the Brahmas. Conversely, both quarterbacks preceded the addition of Wade Phillips as the head coach of the Brahmas; time will tell if they are a good fit for the Brahmas offense in the future.
Matthew McKay signed a letter of intent with the Brahmas on October 18th. McKay played college football at North Carolina State from 2017 until 2019, Montana State from 2020 until 2021, and he finished his college career at Elon in 2022. During his college career, he played in 34 games, completing 442 passes on 725 pass attempts for 5,708 yards, resulting in 41 touchdowns and eight interceptions. McKay also ran the ball 236 times for 873 yards and ten rushing touchdowns during his college career.
TJ Edwards was signed by San Antonio in December, coming from the Frisco Fighters of the Indoor Football League. Edwards was named the Most Valuable Player in the Indoor Football League in 2023 while throwing for 2,600 yards and 39 passing touchdowns, and he also ran for 853 yards and 49 rushing touchdowns. Edwards was an NCAA Division II standout at Southwestern Baptist University from 2015 until 2017; he played at the University of Indianapolis his senior year, throwing 2,400 yards and 23 touchdowns for the Greyhounds.
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