Turns out, UFL teams weren't done dealing this week. On Tuesday, it was announced that Dallas traded QB Luis Perez to St. Louis. Here's my analysis and grades for each team involved.
St. Louis gets: QB Luis Perez
Dallas gets: OT Corey Stewart
At 2-2, St. Louis is currently the last team in if the playoffs were to be held today. They're a game up on the four teams behind them, which is not a lot of cushion. That's especially true when you have a QB in Harrison Frost that is as inconsistent as he's shown over two weeks. I noted in my What We Learned column that Frost likely wasn't the answer at the position for the Battlehawks. An injury to Michael Pratt, who would've been next in line, necessitated this move. In Perez, St. Louis gets an established arm eager to prove he's got more to offer than just sitting in a backup role as he's done so far this year in Dallas. Perez should be able to pick up A.J. Smith's offense quickly and it would not surprise if he got some playing time this weekend, though he's not likely to start. There is a risk here that Perez shows his age and has trouble escaping the pass rush - St. Louis has allowed 10 sacks in four games - but that risk is minimal compared to the risk of continuing to start Frost. The fact that they only gave up a backup offensive lineman sweetens the deal.
St. Louis grade: A
While it would probably have been nice to keep Perez around as insurance in case of an injury to Austin Reed, head coach Rick Neuheisel instead acquiesced to Perez's request for a trade. They strangely got little in return for a player not only expected to start at the most important position in football, but who was traded to a potential playoff rival. Despite the 3-1 record and the performance of Reed and the running backs, Dallas's offensive line takes up seven of the bottom eight spots in PFF's offensive player grades for the team. One would think, then, there may be playing time available for Stewart, who thus far has played just 69 snaps on offense this season. If nothing else, this trade strengthens Dallas's depth along the line, and offensive line depth is hard to come by. Still, this is reminiscent of the trade that sent Perez to the Renegades in the first place, for backup DE Ryan Mueller, who was soon after cut by the Vegas Vipers and ended up back in powder blue a few weeks later in 2023.
Dallas grade: D+