The St. Louis Battlehawks will begin the 2024 UFL season next Saturday against the Michigan Panthers. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
The St. Louis Battlehawks made their final roster cuts before the start of the 2024 United Football League season.
On Friday, the Battlehawks announced through the league office that the team had cut DT Kevin Atkins; LB Nico Bolden; WR Darion Chafin; LB Emeke Egbule; DE Chris Garrett; LB Drew Lewis; WR Steven Mitchell Jr.; and OT Dallas Warmack to trim its roster to 50 players.
That means barring any last-minute trades or changes, St. Louis’ roster is set for the season opener next Saturday against the Michigan Panthers.
Press release courtesy: TheUFL.com
Of the final cuts, one of the biggest surprises to get let go was Warmack. He played for the Battlehawks last season and was one of the team’s top reserve linemen.
In an article for AL.com, head coach Anthony Becht talked about the difficult decision he and his staff might have to make in trimming its roster down from 58 to 50, especially when it came to possibly losing Warmack.
“Right now, we do have 10 offensive linemen,” Becht said on Thursday. “Our plan right now is to keep nine, so we have an incredibly tough decision to make here across the board, and again we’ll make that here into the evening, and we’ll feel good about it. I love the fact that we have to make tough decisions because that means Dave Boller, our GM, and myself have found players that have upped that competition level. There are a lot of plug-and-play guys. We do feel like we have two starting lines, which is crazy to say because they’re in a spring league.
“All those guys, in particular Dallas, we’re all evaluating these players, and it’s a close deal, so we feel like we got a good room at the moment.”
The Battlehawks’ season opener against Michigan Panthers will kick off at 3 p.m. from Ford Field in Detroit. The game will be televised nationally on FOX.
St. Louis’ home opener at The Dome at America’s Center will be against the Arlington Renegades on Saturday, April 6.