When you end the inaugural season with a 1-9 record, you know the day of reckoning can’t be far behind. That day has officially arrived. Newly hired General Manager Will Lewis made it clear that changes were in order for the Roughnecks. Broom in hand, Lewis abruptly cleaned house, cutting 16 UFL players in one sweep. He then turned around and signed their sixteen replacement counterparts.
The most notable player cut was running back Mark Thompson who finished the season as the number 12 RB in the league. Thompson played seven games and had 66 carries for 225 yards with five touchdowns. He added another six receptions for 33 yards. Although Thompson was effective when he was healthy, the fact that he was unavailable for three games hurt the team. Nonetheless, Thompson is bitter about the way he was let go. He just posted on Twitter @InMarkWeTrust
In another surprising move, defensive back Donald Rutledge Jr. was also one of the players cut. Rutledge had the second-highest number of tackles on the team with 55. Ranking number 12 in the league with one interception and a fumble recovery, Rutledge was second only to Markel Roby.
Tight end Braedon Bowman was also one of the players dismissed. Bowman played in all 10 games and had two touchdowns on eight catches for 65 yards. Bowman’s situation is especially painful because he has a sick child in the hospital needing open heart surgery and his health insurance could suddenly be gone.
The Full List of Roughnecks Players Who Were Cut
S Rashad Torrence II
TE Braedon Bowman
TE Woody Brandom
S Jamari Brown
G Shamarious Gilmore
RB Ezra Gray
FS Mister Harriel
OLB D’Juan Hines
LS Logan Klusman
P Hunter Niswander
CB Jai Nunn-Liddell
DS Donald Rutledge Jr.
ILB Christian Sam
ILB George Sewell Jr.
TE Clint Sigg Jr.
RB Mark Thompson
After cutting the players, Lewis wasn’t done. He signed the following list of players to replace them.
The List of Players Recently Signed By The Houston Roughnecks
CB Marquis Wilson
G Calvin Ashley
RB Brian Burt
LB Ben Davis
WR Felton Davis
RB Dezmon Jackson
OLB Jamir Jones
CB Chu Ogbonna
DE Eyabi Okie-Anoma
LS Marco Ortiz
SS Shawn Preston Jr.
P Mike Rivers
OLB Mike Scott
OLB Vaughn Taylor Jr.
G Maea Teuhema
It is expected that Wilson, the former Purdue Boilermaker, will compete for the starting assignment with newly drafted cornerbacks Rayshad Williams and Malik Dunlap. The pair, both from Texas Tech, were selected by Lewis in the eighth and ninth rounds of the UFL College draft.
Lewis intends to remake this team with a brand new lineup to erase the image of the past. Like the other UFL Head Coaches, C.J. Johnson is currently without a contract. At this time, it’s unknown if he will be part of the new Lewis regime.
