ST. LOUIS — Time is up for QB Ryan Willis in St. Louis, as the St. Louis Battlehawks have released him.
The announcement of the release came Monday via reports from XFL News Hub and XFL Analyst.
Sources close to the Battlehawks organization disclosed that Willis was informed that he will not be starting this season. Upon that news, the team and Willis parted ways in a mutual manner.
Willis, a veteran of The Spring League, won league MVP honors and the Megabowl. Now, he is once again in free agency waiting for a potential return to the XFL through another team or calls to join the upcoming USFL season.
The release comes during a crucial week to cut down staff from 70 to 51. The deadline for roster cuts is Friday, Feb. 10.
Willis was first rumored to be joining the Battlehawks last September by XFL Insider Mike Mitchell as the team’s first wave of assigned quarterbacks.
Willis officially received his assignment to the team on November 15 alongside AJ McCarron. Nick Tiano was the third assignee two days later.
With the release, it is now apparent that McCarron will be the starting quarterback for Battlehawk Nation with Tiano as the second-stringer. That could likely be due to Tiano’s lack of experience.
The Battlehawks kick off the 2023 campaign on February 19 on the road in San Antonio against the Brahmas. Coach Anthony Becht has selected McCarron to bring St. Louis a championship for a local fanbase dying for football action for the past three years.
The Battlehawks will be on the road for the first three weeks of the season before their home opener in Week 4 at The Dome at America’s Center against the Arlington Renegades.
This article was previously published on Ambush Sports Network.
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Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.
