Birmingham Stallions Swap Safeties, Signing One and Releasing Another
In an interesting move by the two-time USFL champions, the Birmingham Stallions make a quick change to their secondary on Wednesday. The Stallions signed safety A.J. Thomas and released fellow safety Eli Walker to make room.
Thomas is entering spring football for the first time after two seasons in the NFL with the Chicago Bears. He made four tackles with the Bears in 2022 and spent most of his two seasons on Chicago’s practice squad.
At Western Michigan, Thomas performed well, starting in the school’s secondary and posting 221 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 16 pass deflections, three sacks, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one defensive touchdown in 49 games.
Walker was drafted by the Stallions in the USFL Dispersal Draft last month. He was one of the better safeties in the USFL last season with the Pittsburgh Maulers, racking up 37 tackles, three pass deflections, two fumble recoveries, one sack and one interception while playing in all 10 games. The year before, he finished with 15 tackles in seven games for Pittsburgh.
Outside of the USFL, Walker played in the TSL with the Blues. He also had a brief NFL stint with the New York Giants in 2019 as an undrafted free agent.
Walker is a surprising release, especially since he has been improving in the USFL over the past couple of seasons. Thomas’ most recent run in the NFL should give him a leg up on the competition to earn a roster spot on Birmingham and get playing time.
The UFL will launch their first training camp on Feb. 23, and the Stallions open their season on the road against the defending XFL champion Arlington Renegades on March 30.
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