2024 DC Defenders season

American professional football season

The 2024 DC Defenders season is the third season for the DC Defenders as a professional American football franchise and their first as a member of the United Football League (UFL). The Defenders play their home games at Audi Field and are led by head coach Reggie Barlow.

Roster

DC Defenders roster
Quarterbacks
  •  8 Deondre Francois
  • 17 Jalan McClendon
  • 10 Jordan Ta'amu

Running backs

  • 27 Darius Hagans
  •  3 Cam'Ron Harris
  • 11 ZaQuandre White

Wide receivers

  • 81 Keke Coutee
  • 13 Kelvin Harmon
  • 12 Chris Rowland
  • 19 Ty Scott
  •  2 Brandon Smith
  • 86 Vyncint Smith

Tight ends

  • 87 Ben Bresnahan
  • 18 Alex Ellis
  • 89 Kaden Smith
Offensive linemen
  • 73 Tommy Champion T
  • 70 Yasir Durant G
  • 75 Liam Fornadel G
  • 53 Lamont Gaillard C
  • 78 D'Marcus Hayes T
  • 58 Jahmir Ross-Johnson T
  • 51 Mike Maietti C
  • 62 Jarrid Williams T

Defensive linemen

Linebackers
  • 43 Francis Bernard ILB
  •  6 Ferrod Gardner ILB
  • 57 Anthony Hines ILB
  •  5 Reggie Northrup ILB
  • 55 MoMo Sanogo ILB

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • 82 Shaun Beyer TE (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 37 Sam Kidd SS (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 88 Briley Moore TE (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 26 DeJuan Neal CB (Suspended)
  •  4 Abram Smith RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 99 Joseph Wallace DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve)



Roster updated May 1, 2024

50 active, 6 reserve(s)

Signees to the NFL

Player Position Date NFL team Ref.
Daniel Whelan P May 17 Green Bay Packers [1]
Ferrod Gardner LB May 22 Washington Commanders [2]
Lucky Jackson WR May 23 Minnesota Vikings [3]
Brandon Smith WR June 12 Arizona Cardinals [4]
Chris Blair WR June 16 Atlanta Falcons [5]

Schedule

All times Eastern

Week Day Date Kickoff TV Opponent Results Location Attendance
Score Record
1 Sunday March 31 12:00 p.m. ESPN at San Antonio Brahmas 12–27 0–1 Alamodome 13,164
2 Sunday April 7 4:00 p.m. Fox Houston Roughnecks 23–18 1–1 Audi Field 15,052
3 Saturday April 13 1:00 p.m. ESPN at Arlington Renegades 29–28 2–1 Choctaw Stadium 8,411
4 Saturday April 20 7:00 p.m. Fox at Birmingham Stallions 18–20 2–2 Protective Stadium 7,262
5 Sunday April 28 12:00 p.m. ESPN St. Louis Battlehawks 12–45 2–3 Audi Field 16,058
6 Sunday May 5 4:00 p.m. Fox San Antonio Brahmas 18–12 3–3 Audi Field 14,303
7 Sunday May 12 12:00 p.m. ESPN Michigan Panthers Audi Field
8 Sunday May 19 12:00 p.m. ABC at St. Louis Battlehawks The Dome at America's Center
9 Sunday May 26 2:30 p.m. Fox at Memphis Showboats Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium
10 Sunday June 2 12:00 p.m. ABC Arlington Renegades Audi Field

[6]

Game summaries

Week 1: at San Antonio Brahmas

Week 1: DC Defenders at San Antonio Brahmas – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Defenders 3 6 3012
Brahmas 7 13 0727

at Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas

  • Date: March 31
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. EDT/11:00 a.m. CDT
  • Game weather: None (Indoor stadium)
  • Game attendance: 13,164
  • Referee: Bryan Banks
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Monaco, Sam Acho, Cole Cubelic and Stormy Buonantony
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

First quarter

  • SA – Anthony McFarland Jr. 28-yard pass from Chase Garbers (John Lovett one-point run), 9:08. Brahmas 7–0. Drive: 11 plays, 60 yards, 5:52.
  • DC – Matt McCrane 50-yard field goal, 0:22. Brahmas 7–3. Drive: 7 plays, 19 yards, 3:06.

Second quarter

  • SA – Jontre Kirklin 4-yard pass from Chase Garbers (Chase Garbers-Justin Smith one-point pass), 11:21. Brahmas 14–3. Drive: 8 plays, 54 yards, 4:01.
  • DC – Matt McCrane 34-yard field goal, 6:16. Brahmas 14–6. Drive: 9 plays, 42 yards, 5:05.
  • DC – Matt McCrane 48-yard field goal, 2:00. Brahmas 14–9. Drive: 6 plays, 11 yards, 3:23.
  • SA – Alex Mollette 40-yard pass from Brad Wing (two-point pass failed), 0:03. Brahmas 20–9. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 1:57.

Third quarter

  • DC – Matt McCrane 28-yard field goal, 2:54. Brahmas 20–12. Drive: 10 plays, 47 yards, 5:39.

Fourth quarter

  • SA – Chase Garbers 5-yard run (John Lovett one-point run), 7:16. Brahmas 27–12. Drive: 3 plays, 6 yards, 1:29.

Top passers

  • DC – Jordan Ta'amu – 25/45, 235 yards, INT
  • SA – Chase Garbers – 19/25, 158 yards, 2 TD

Top rushers

  • DC – Cam'Ron Harris – 8 rushes, 21 yards
  • SA – Anthony McFarland Jr. – 9 rushes, 47 yards

Top receivers

  • DC – Ty Scott – 4 receptions, 87 yards
  • SA – Jontre Kirklin – 8 receptions, 61 yards, TD

Standings

  • v
  • t
  • e
USFL Conference
Team W L PCT GB TD+/- TD+ TD- DIV PF PA DIFF STK
(x) Birmingham Stallions 6 0 1.000 - 10 18 8 4–0 171 89 82 W6
Michigan Panthers 4 2 .667 2 2 15 13 2–1 137 120 17 W2
Memphis Showboats 1 5 .167 5 -13 10 23 1–3 107 171 -64 L5
Houston Roughnecks 1 5 .167 5 -8 9 17 0–3 84 138 -54 L2
XFL Conference
Team W L PCT GB TD+/- TD+ TD- DIV PF PA DIFF STK
St. Louis Battlehawks 5 1 .833 - 7 20 13 3–0 173 103 70 W5
San Antonio Brahmas 4 2 .667 1 8 16 8 2–2 127 104 23 L1
DC Defenders 3 3 .500 2 -2 13 15 2–2 112 150 -38 W1
Arlington Renegades 0 6 .000 5 -4 12 16 0–3 117 153 -36 L6
(x)–clinched playoff berth; (y)–clinched division; (e)–eliminated from playoff contention


Staff

The 2024 coaching staff was announced on February 21, 2024.[7]

DC Defenders staff
Front office
Head coach

Head coach – Reggie Barlow

Offensive coaches
  • Offensive Coordinator – Fred Kaiss
  • Wide Receivers – Sean Anderson
  • Offensive Line – Sean Kugler
  • Quarterbacks – Shannon Harris
 
Defensive coaches
  • Defensive Backs – Vern Dean
  • Linebackers – Deion Harris
  • Defensive Line – Jeremy Watkins
  • Defensive Coordinator – Gregg Williams

Offensive Line coach Russ Ehrenfeld was replaced by Sean Kugler Week 6.

ReferencesTy Warren

  1. ^ Burke, Aidan. "Daniel Whelan becomes the first D.C. Defender to sign with NFL team". XFL Board. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  2. ^ Manning, Bryan. "Commanders sign XFL linebacker". Commanders Wire. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  3. ^ "Vikings sign XFL star wide receiver Lucky Jackson". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  4. ^ Root, Jess. "Cardinals sign former XFL WR Brandon Smith". Cards Wire. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  5. ^ Paolantonio, Christian. "DC Defenders WR Chris Blair Signs With Atlanta Falcons". XFL Newsroom. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  6. ^ "2024 DC Defenders Schedule". FBS Schedules. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  7. ^ "UFL announces 2024 coaching staffs for all eight teams". Fox Sports. February 21, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  • v
  • t
  • e
DC Defenders
  • Founded in 2018
  • Based in Washington, DC
Franchise
Stadiums
Key personnel
Culture
Division championships (1)
2023
Affiliations
  • League: XFL (2020-2023); United Football League (2024-present)
    Conference: XFL Conference (2024-present)
    Division: East (2020); North (2023)
Seasons