Believe it or not, the Arlington Renegades just had the best regular season record in franchise history, dating back to 2020. While the Renegades missed out on the playoffs for a second straight year, their 5-5 campaign got them to .500 for the first time in the XFL and UFL.
It was a season that started out with high hopes, as the Renegades featured a reloaded roster – while bringing back some of their key playmakers from the 2024 season. Arlington felt like they were a much better team than their record reflected in 2024. They started that year 0-6, losing three games in the final seconds.
This season showed quite a bit more promise for Bob Stoops and his Renegades squad. With Luis Perez back in the saddle, a fresh ground game, and a stout defense – they had all the pieces necessary to make legitimate noise.
However, a midseason slump ultimately crushed any chance of making a postseason push. Let’s take a look back at this Renegades 2025 season – one that leaves this organization with questions heading into the offseason.
Strong Start
As Arlington took to the field against San Antonio to kick off the year, it took all of us by surprise with how handedly they took down the Brahmas. San Antonio didn’t stand a chance, as Arlington blew them out in a 33-9 victory.
With Kalen Ballage added to the backfield, and a healthy Dae Dae Hunter splitting reps with him, this offensive attack looked entirely different. Luis Perez, with the support of a true ground game, was efficient. Defensively, their front seven set the tone early, never relenting on Kellen Mond throughout the day.
The next week, Arlington faced off against Houston – and even though it was a relatively ugly win, the defense stood strong, and the Renegades were off to a 2-0 start.
Week three is quietly the game that might have sent the Renegades into a downward spiral that they couldn’t snap out of. Arlington had control against Birmingham – on the road – for the entire night. They even came away with the game-winning interception with a minute left to play…or so they thought.
Somehow, a penalty on Birmingham resulted in another opportunity for Matt Corral and the Stallions – and they converted on 4th and 14. A few plays later, Cade Johnson waltzed into the end zone as Arlington’s defense collapsed in the final minute, and the Stallions came away with an improbable win.
Still, the Renegades were poised to make a postseason push, taking down the Battlehawks 30-15 at home in week four. It was another dominant defensive effort, as they generated a few takeaways which put their offense in an excellent position. Ajene Harris capped things off with a 100 yard pick six – sending the Renegades to a 3-1 record – the best start they’ve ever had.
Some Things Never Change
Week five appeared to have Arlington right back in position to pick up their fourth win of the year. After Deontay Burnett’s one handed touchdown catch to kick things off – and a 27-12 lead over the Defenders – the Renegades were feeling good.
However, the Renegades’ demons of old would come out and haunt this franchise once again. Avoidable mistakes – such as facemask penalties, defenders running into each other, too many men on the field, etc. – piled up in the second half. All of a sudden, DC was right back in the game, and took a 37-33 lead late. Luis Perez, who had an excellent game, forced a deep ball when they still had time left, and it was picked off, sealing the win for DC.
Arlington then went into St. Louis – a hostile environment that they’ve yet to win a game in. While their defense improved drastically from the previous week, Perez and the offense could not find a way to get things going. On top of that, they lost star RB Kalen Ballage with a shoulder injury that knocked him out the rest of the year. The Battlehawks would come away with a 12-6 win, with more self-inflicted wounds (i.e. Bob Stoops icing his own kicker, late fumble from Javonta Payton) getting in the way.
Week seven was the ultimate turning point for this Renegades franchise – in the wrong direction. After a rough first half of action, Arlington found their groove in the third quarter, pulling away 18-9 – looking to shut the door on Michigan. Some back and forth action in the final period had the Renegades sitting comfortably with a 24-18 lead, with little time remaining.
What would happen next was typical Renegades football, in crunch time. A facemask from Willie Taylor gifted Michigan with a first down. Then, on 3rd and long for Michigan, Bob Stoops called a timeout giving the Panthers time to reset, and execute for the first down pickup. We all saw what happened from there – a Bryce Perkins run that was stopped short of the goal-line appeared to run the clock out, but it turned out that Mike Nolan got the timeout called just in the nick of time. Toa Taua proceeded to score a touchdown, followed up by the game-winning PAT – and Michigan walked away with a stunning 25-24 victory.
Week eight was do or die for this Renegades organization – and unfortunately, they died. Despite 350 yards from Luis Perez, Arlington still couldn’t get out of their own way. Defensively, there were way too many mistakes. Pair that up with idiotic penalties – such as 12 men on the field on a punt that you blocked for a touchdown return – and it’s a recipe for disaster. Still, Arlington had a chance to tie late, but Luis Perez called his own number, which resulted in a heartbreaking ending at the hands of Deandre Baker.
Sitting at 3-5, the Renegades dropped four intense games in a row, and all of a sudden found themselves eliminated from playoff contention.
Determined Finish Shows Promise
Over the course of the last two games, Arlington played back up to the level that we had seen out of them earlier in the year. In week nine, they dismantled the Memphis Showboats – with a dominant second half that showed Perez in tune with his top wideouts, to no one’s surprise.
Week 10 told a different story. Arlington got off to a fast offensive start which put them up 20-3, and then their defense carried the burden the rest of the way as the Brahmas still had zero answers for Arlington’s defensive stiffness. Even without Bob Stoops, who missed the game with a torn quad, the Renegades ended the year on a high note, with a commanding 23-6 victory.
While it wasn’t the season that Arlington hoped for, they did finish with a 5-5 record – the best of their franchise history (2020: 2-3, 2023: 4-6, 2024: 3-7).
Defensive Improvement On Display
Last year, one of the thorns in Arlington’s side was their inability to play consistent defensive football. While it wasn’t a perfect season in 2025 by any means, this unit was much stronger this time around compared to a year ago.
This was the product of a few things. Firstly, they were able to retain some of their defensive standouts from 2024. EDGE rushers Will Clarke and Willie Taylor, DB’s Ajene Harris and Myles Dorn, and LB Donald Payne were all key pieces that returned in 2025.
In the offseason, General Manager Rick Mueller was active in bringing in new defensive talent. Up front, we saw DT Kyon Barrs, DT Amani Bledsoe, and DE Chris Odom all have outstanding campaigns this year. In the secondary, the additions of Jayden Price and Chris Claybrooks did not go unnoticed, as the two fit right into Arlington’s defensive scheme, playing excellent football.
On top of that, we saw Marvin Sanders take over as Co-Defensive Coordinator, sharing the duties with Jay Hayes – who was the team’s sole DC in 2024. Sanders was clearly running the defense throughout most of the year, which led to an uptick in overall production. Arlington led the UFL in sacks (27), forced fumbles (12), and their 58 TFL’s were good enough for second best in the league, behind DC.
According to PFF’s Grading system, Arlington’s Grade in 2025 was 70.1 (4th), up from 63.7 (7th) in 2024.
Major Takeaways From 2025
The Arlington Renegades have a lot to be proud of from this past season. They took some legitimate steps forward as an organization, improving in a few key areas.
On the ground, the addition of Kalen Ballage, combined with the attention given to Dae Dae Hunter gave this offense an entirely new feel. Honestly, had Ballage not gone down in week six, that could have been the difference for Arlington in at least staying alive in the postseason race for a bit longer.
With Arlington bringing back so many weapons and targets for Luis Perez, the passing game had few struggles. Tyler Vaughns, Sal Cannella, Deontay Burnett, and Javonta Payton were all outstanding in their own regards. Not to mention, Isaiah Winstead and Seth Green saw growth as well, filling out what was a talented WR/TE room for Chuck Long’s offense to utilize.
For the Renegades, it’s never been about a lack of talent. It’s simply been a lack of execution in crucial moments that have held them back from reaching their full potential. They find new ways to lose each and every year, especially in the games that matter most.
One of Arlington’s achilles heels throughout the year was their offensive line play. With Luis Perez being the “immobile” quarterback that he is, Arlington’s strength has been their ability to block for him. With a few new pieces up front, though, it took time for the Renegades to find the correct balance on their O-Line. Jacob Johanning clearly wasn’t the answer at center, replacing Jake Lacina who retired in the offseason.
Luis Perez was the most sacked quarterback in the UFL this year, taking 23 sacks in 2025. Granted, part of the issue is Luis himself not being able to escape the pressure – in stark contrast to more mobile signal callers such as Max Duggan. This is something that will have to be addressed in the offseason.
Moving Towards 2026
Bob Stoops, Rick Mueller, and this Renegades organization will have some questions to answer over the next several months. First and foremost: will Bob Stoops and his staff return? Stoops has been coaching the Renegades for four years now, dating back to the 2020 XFL season. Across that span, the Renegades have a regular season record of 14-21.
There’s no guarantee that Bob comes back, albeit the fact that this gig has worked out pretty well for him, as he only has to coach for a few months out of the year.
At quarterback, where does Arlington go? Will Luis Perez return, or does he retire after this season if an NFL opportunity eludes him? Even if Luis wants to come back, Arlington has to honestly assess his future with this franchise. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to win in this league without a mobile quarterback, as offensive lines are always going to be a step behind the competition.
There is always the option to turn to Holton Ahlers, who has sat behind Perez for the past two seasons. His limited snap count in 2025 didn’t show a ton of promise, but he’s got an accomplished college career at ECU backing him up.
It’ll also be important for the Renegades to closely analyze some of their veterans. Even if they’re guys that have been with Stoops & Co. for a few years – the UFL isn’t getting any older. It’s getting younger. Vets like Joe Powell, Will Clarke, Jamar Summers, etc.; it’s probably time to move on.
On Special Teams, this unit was the definition of good, but not great. Marquette King continued his trend of being consistent, and Lucas Havrisik flashed potential but also missed a few kicks along the way.
Final Thoughts
As the Arlington Renegades turn towards 2026, there’s plenty to reflect upon from their 2025 campaign. There’s a few positives to take into account, but if this team can’t find a way to execute and get out of their own way, returning to the Championship will be an impossible task. It feels like they keep coming up just short of what they’re truly capable of. It’s not a roster issue, that’s for sure.
For Bob Stoops – the main focus leading into next year has to be team discipline. Without it, Arlington is destined to fail once again.
In UFL to NFL news, we’ve seen TE Sal Cannella, TE Seth Green, and DB Jayden Price sign NFL contracts so far.
What are your thoughts on the Arlington Renegades 2025 UFL season? What needs to change heading towards 2026? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!
