When the Memphis Showboats selected University of Kansas quarterback Jason Bean as their number one draft pick last July, the team seemed determined to address one of their biggest areas of need.

Selecting A QB Through The UFL Draft

A highly mobile quarterback in college, Bean’s strong passing attack was enhanced by his rushing ability. His impressive college stats of 251 carries for 1,342 yards with 14 touchdowns offered the Showboats a dual threat at the position. However, either the Showboats neglected to do their homework, or they gambled and lost.

Two months before the UFL draft, Bean signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent. Bean should not have participated in the UFL Draft if he was already committed to the Colts. But perhaps he was trying to hedge his bets.

As it turns out, Bean was waived by the Colts the following August. However, he re-signed to the team’s practice squad the next day. While he didn’t see any regular season action in 2024, Bean signed a reserve/future contract on January 6, 2025. As a result, he is ineligible to play for the Showboats during their 2025 season.

Returning Quarterback Options

The Showboats struggled last season with far too many sacks, incomplete passes, and interceptions. Despite appearing in only eight games, starting quarterback Case Cookus was sacked more than any other quarterback in the league. But Cookus wasn’t entirely to blame for the situation that led to 20 sacks.

The dismal lack of offensive line protection was a big factor. Quarterback Troy Williams was left equally vulnerable with 15 sacks. Despite cycling through three different quarterbacks, the overall lack of stability and production from the position cost the team games they should have won.

Williams is back with the team this year and could potentially win the starting assignment. But he’ll have to improve significantly over last year’s numbers. Playing in a limited capacity, Williams completed 58 of 106 attempts for 591 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions.

Trading For An Experienced UFL QB

By the fall of 2024, the Showboats were also playing it safe. Choosing an insurance policy against Bean’s unavailability, the Showboats traded defensive lineman Jordan Ferguson to the San Antonio Brahmas for quarterback Quinten Dormady. He started the UFL inaugural season as the Brahmas backup quarterback, but that quickly changed when Chase Garbers injured his wrist in week four.

Dormady played seven out of ten regular season games in Garbers’ absence and helped lead the Brahmas to the Conference Title game against the Birmingham Stallions. Although the Brahmas lost to the Stallions, Dormady ended the regular season ranked number five in the league, completing 103 of 173 passes for 1,206 yards with six touchdowns and six interceptions. His longest touchdown pass was for 52 yards. 

Right now, Dormady and Williams are the only two quarterbacks on the current roster, but there may be another option.


Another Potential Option For A UFL QB

As the league prepares for its upcoming season, another name is emerging as a possible option for the Showboats at quarterback. The latest rumors point to Memphis signing former St. Louis Battlehawks / Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, AJ McCarron. The former Alabama star was released by the Battlehawks in November of 2024 after McCarron allegedly refused to agree to a trade.

McCarron was a standout for the earlier spring football incarnation, the XFL St. Louis Battlehawks. The hottest quarterback in the league, McCarron broke the record for the most touchdowns in a single season with 24. McCarron was on fire in the final game of the 2023 season, setting single-game passing and touchdown records with 420 yards and six touchdowns.

McCarron was so successful that season, he was wooed back to the Cincinnati Bengals for a second opportunity. Although he remained primarily on the Bengals practice squad, he was activated briefly that season when the Bengals’ backup quarterback Jake Browning was injured.

On February 16, 2024, McCarron agreed to join the UFL Battlehawks. As an established spring football veteran and star alumnae, MCarron’s presence generated a lot of excitement.

With 1,582 yards in nine games with 15 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, McCarron was one of the stronger quarterbacks in the league. He led the Battlehawks to the UFL playoffs where a defeat to the Brahmas cost them a chance to play for the Championship Title.

Nonetheless, despite McCarron’s solid season, he and head coach Anthony Becht had a contentious relationship. Unable to mend fences, the two parted ways in November of 2024.

However, McCarron has openly expressed an interest in remaining in the league and playing for another team this spring. Memphis, the ball is in your court.

author avatar
Sue Levine
Sue Levine spent the past five years creating and producing a successful weekly health and wellness podcast starring a wonderful iconic woman as the program host. As part of Sue's responsibilities, she scripted every episode and discovered a genuine love of writing. When the podcast ended late last year, she shifted the focus of her writing to covering pro sports. A passionate fan of NFL and UFL football as well as fantasy, she is delighted to be able to share her articles with other football fans.

1 Comment

  • Posted February 3, 2025 3:31 pm 0Likes
    by Ken Granito

    As always I like your take on this with the idea of connecting the dots to read AJ McCarron as a fit for the Showboats. I see this fit. As a matter of fact the Showboats were my 2nd or 3rd choice for AJ McCarron after his release from the the Battlehawks. I am going to have a different opinion of the title of your story, however. The word dilemma brings about a feeling of a better choice of undesirable options. I honestly don’t see it that way. The position of quarterback is much like the position of running back. If you don’t have good people around you, you are going to fail no matter how good you are. However, if you are a bad quarterback you can still fail on a good team, although you can fool at lot more people until it becomes obvious (see Mark Sanchez). Though an absolutely wonderful in game announcer he was not a very good quarterback. For you older readers, think of all the things you learned later in life. That is Mark Sanchez. As a Jets fan I wish he had the mentality he has now, when he was a quarterback. It’s one of the things that makes Patrick Mahomes so great. He has the true love of the game with all it’s beauty and competitiveness, but with the mind of a player that has seen it all before. If there was a debate regarding re-incarnation he is the best argument that it exists. He plays like he has played thousands of games. This brings us to AJ McCarron. AJ McCarron has broken many rules that football players are not supposed to. I hope he is learning and hopefully in the right situation all will go well. That stated, to me, the thing that makes him a good signing is not because of a dilemma on the Showboats. If you have two undesirable quarterbacks, then signing AJ McCarron is NOT an option as you need to have one that you can count on regardless. If McCarron makes himself an undesirable then you have no options. IF you are Ken Whisenhunt and Jim Monos you are trying to build something and can’t have someone tear it all down. It’s this simple. If Ken Whisenhunt trusts the offensive and defensive lines, the Showboats should sign AJ McCarron the best passer in the game. He can do this as he has a trusted passer and possible star in the room as Quinten Dormady is talented. AJ McCarron will have no reason not to trust Ken Whisenhunt as Whisenhunt has proven it in the NFL over and over and in his lifetime. Unfortunately, as I have written before the XFL signed NFL stars and NOT proven NFL and college coaches to coach their teams the way the USFL did. This allowed for rookie head coaches to fill the room in St. Louis. Sometimes when you have that and you give the press too much access, this type of thing comes back around to bite you in the butt. At this time the UFL has to remember, it’s faults and this IS one. I am sorry Anthony as I am a Jets fan and I root for you as you are a tremendous football guy, more so than McCarron, but McCarron is more the reason you were 7-3 those first two years. He is by far and away the best passer in this league, consistently accurate and applies the right amount of speed on the ball for each throw. With all the drops Battlehawks receivers have, he would have completed at well over 75%. Tom Seaver was interviewed later in his career as saying that although he cannot say he can throw as hard as he did when he was younger, 80% of his pitches go exactly where he wants them to. I think that is about where AJ McCarron is. That being the case, I still think AJ McCarron has a lot to apologize for as well. Anthony Becht knows that the #1 pre-requisite of playing quarterback is leadership. I am sure McCarron wanted to win for the team, the fans and of course for his kids in the stands. McCarron has won and he has won again. It is why in the playoffs he did not choke in the NFL when he barely had enough NFL snaps to be in a playoff game. He IS a gamer. He’s just also an idiot at times. Being you were both McCarron and the league made mistakes, they should come back together, admit there were mistakes and sign if they feel good about it sign with the UFL. As my first choice Brahmas are not the easiest fit as they once were, the next two would seam a trade to DC or as Sue Levine has pointed out the Memphis Showboats. Memphis is good for a number of reasons. 1. The receivers are here. If they sign Papale they will have their Sheppard. I would already rather have Adams over Butler. 2. Signing Darius Victor will provide them a running back who WILL always read the hole and will always run over the 1st person he comes across in the hole. The signings they already made provide opportunities to only be better, but you need to have Victor for the baseline good running back. If the other running backs perform well leave him unprotected so the Generals can pick him up in the expansion draft next year, but at least you know you will have at least one hard experienced running back with a good attitude. 3. Hopefully you will have an improved defense with the Hortons running the defense. Ray was a professional and respected NFL DC and secondary coach and he knows Whisenhunt from being the DC for him in Arizona with the Cardinals. Although it remains unreported, at least to me, I think with all the ex-Maulers on board, this is a sign. 4. Quinten Dormady is exactly where he should be. He can make almost any throw and he felt comfortable in the spread. He was someone that could be counted on. He is still that guy. If McCarron signs on he will take the good and important stuff and add it to his bag. He will be the insurance policy should McCarron not have a change in heart so this is a great place as they could move on from McCarron if he remains the same guy from a few months ago. To me, Dormady is not undesirable. I don’t believe Troy Williams is for that matter. Even if he is the number 3 quarterback, to have a quarterback in the UFL that can handle real game time snaps is important and he is a good quarterback, but a GREAT number 3rd string. These QBs are the reason this signing makes sense, as they are talented and can play this game. 5. Right now the Boat is not well attended as largely only the crew can be seen on weekend adventures. They have some die hard fans, but most of Memphis is not onboard right now. McCarron will put another 5,000 fans in the stands by himself. Once they see the product they can maybe move the base number of fans to 10,000, which means they will still get some more with the stragglers. To me, it only grows from there. Hoping for this to happen. Ken Whisenhunt will have his Kurt Warner and if he does not work out, Dormady may be able to play his role. Just thinking it makes sense.

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