John Ross, Keke Coutee, Darrius Moragne Sign UFL Contracts

Wednesday brought quite a bit of UFL action on the transaction wire. The Birmingham Stallions, DC Defenders, and Dallas Renegades all signed players. Most notably, the Stallions added WR John Ross.

Birmingham Stallions

WR John Ross, Signed

The Birmingham Stallions have officially done it. After attempting to sign John Ross for a couple of weeks, A.J. McCarron finally got the green light from the UFL. McCarron has been trying to sign Ross for a while, given their ties to the Cincinnati Bengals from several years ago.

Ross is an incredibly high-profile player to join the United Football League. He was formerly a first round pick with the Bengals in 2017, after running a 4.22 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine. Ross ended up recording 963 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns throughout his NFL career, primarily playing with the Bengals and Giants.

John played his college football at Washington. His speed and route running abilities led to a strong career with 1,729 yards and 22 touchdowns to his name. He was also effective as a kick returner, with 2,069 yards and four scores on special teams.

John Ross joins an absolutely loaded WR room in Birmingham. It’s actually ridiculous at this point. Making cuts in camp is going to be very difficult for McCarron and his staff, and the signing of Ross makes that job even harder.

Dallas Renegades

DT Darrius Moragne, Signed

In a rather interesting move up front for Dallas, the Renegades have signed veteran DT Darrius Moragne. Darrius is the definition of a tackle who plays in a 4-3 system. He most recently spent this past UFL season with the Houston Roughnecks, totaling 12 tackles and five QB pressures in nine games played.

Darrius has been around the block in the spring football scene. He played for the Pittsburgh Maulers in 2022, but a season-ending injury knocked him out for a while. He signed with the Brahmas in 2023, but lost his spot due to the merger. Darrius then jumped over to the Renegades for a bit in 2024, but never saw the field.

Now, he’ll get a chance to prove himself again with the Dallas Renegades. As it stands right now, Moragne is more than likely just a camp body for Dallas.

DC Defenders

WR Keke Coutee, Signed

He’s back. The DC Defenders have re-signed Keke Coutee, who returns to the District after a year off from football. Coutee played with the Defenders in 2024, recording 173 yards on 18 receptions that year – primarily playing behind Ty Scott and Kelvin Harmon.

Coutee has had a long professional career. Coming out of college, he was drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Texans. He remained in Houston for a few seasons, racking up over 900 yards and four touchdowns with the Texans.

Collegiately, Keke was a star at Texas Tech. In just three seasons, he posted 2,424 receiving yards alongside 17 touchdowns. Coutee can make an impact on special teams as well, returning kicks and punts throughout his college and NFL career.

Roster Losses

LB Monty Rice, Louisville Kings: The Kings have lost Monty Rice, one of their premier linebackers that they drafted a few weeks ago. He’s a former third round NFL draft pick who was projected early on to be a big piece in Jamie Sharper’s defense.

What are your thoughts on John Ross and Keke Coutee joining the UFL? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!