Bad news is coming in for the DC Defenders, as they have lost one of their top wide receivers in the offense to injury.
According to the UFL Communication Department's X page, the Defenders have moved wide receiver Seth Williams to the reserve/injured list with a left knee injury, where he will have to spend the next five weeks before it is determined whether he can come back or not. Williams caught three passes for 51 yards in DC's 16-10 loss to the St. Louis Battlehawks in Week 1.
Last year with the Defenders, Williams had just eight catches for 63 yards and one touchdown in two regular season games, but exploded onto the scene in the postseason with three receptions for 107 yards and one score in two games. He went to training camp with the Las Vegas Raiders at the conclusion of the UFL season.
DC Defenders lose wide receiver Seth Williams
Williams was off to a monster start to the season before his unfortunate injury. That leaves the Defenders with an interesting situation at the wide receiver position moving forward.
Cornell Powell will now be taking over as one of the starting wide receivers in place of Williams. Powell will join Ty Scott and Keke Coutee in the lineup. Expect Braylon Sanders to potentially see some looks as well since he's got experience in Defenders head coach Shannon Harris's offense.
Despite the disappointing results of the passing offense for DC last week with 123 yards, the Defenders are still fully loaded with weapons on that side of the ball. The receivers still playing are more than capable of getting the job done, with Scott and Coutee able to create big plays on offense.
DC is set to face the Columbus Aviators to kick off Week 2 of the 2026 UFL season.