The Philadelphia Stars signed former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker B.J. Bello on Tuesday. To make room for Bello, the Stars released linebacker Kadofi Wright.
B.J. Bello is six foot three and weighs 229 pounds. The 28-year-old from New Lenox, Illinois, signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He played 16 games for the Browns in his rookie season recording six tackles (5 solo, 1 assist) and one quarterback hit.
After Cleveland, he signed with the Arizona Cardinals but was released and later joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018. He played three games in Philadelphia with two tackles. In 2019, he made stops with the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers before signing with the New York Jets and played eight games with five tackles (3 solo, 2 assist).
In 2020, Bello signed with the Los Angeles Chargers and played six games with seven tackles (5 solo, 2 assists), and in 2021 signed with the Tennessee Titans but was placed on injured reserve.
Collegiately, Bello began at Illinois (2013-15) with 13 tackles (1 solo, 12 assists) and one pass breakup in 19 games for the Fighting Illini. Then, Bello transferred to Illinois State in 2016 with 72 tackles (40 solo, 32 assists), 9.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, four pass breakups, and two forced fumbles in 12 games for the Redbirds. He was named MVFC All-Newcomer Team selection.
Kadofi Wright is six foot three and weighs 229 pounds. The 25-year-old from Richmond, Virginia, played three games for the Stars in 2023 with nine tackles and one pass breakup.
Before Philadelphia, Wright made 49 tackles (29 solo, 20 assists), 8.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, one interception, six pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery in 11 games last year for the Bulls. Wright attended the Denver Broncos training camp in 2022.
Collegiately, Wright spent five seasons at Buffalo (2017-21) with 148 tackles (84 solo, 64 assists), 19 tackles for loss, eight sacks, four interceptions, two touchdowns, 17 pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries in 55 games. He was named All-MAC Second Team in 2019.
Philadelphia placed wide receiver Chris Rowland on injured reserved.
Chris Rowland is five foot eight and weighs 179 pounds. The 25-year-old from Nolensville, Tennessee, caught nine passes for 82 yards, one touchdown, four carries for 20 yards, and 13 kick returns for 323 yards in three games for the Stars in 2023.
This was Rowland’s second season in Philadelphia. In 2022, Rowland played ten games with 22 catches for 258 yards, one touchdown, five carries for 31 yards, and four kick returns for 114 yards. The Stars drafted Rowland in the sixth round (48th pick) of the 2022 USFL Supplemental Draft.
Before Philadelphia, Rowland was on the Tennessee Titans practice squad in 2021 and played two games for the Atlanta Falcons with two kick returns for 53 yards in 2020.
Rowland played 41 games in four seasons (2016-19) at Tennessee State with 194 catches for 2,578 yards, 14 touchdowns, 55 carries for 319 yards, and one touchdown. On special teams, Rowland had 74 kick returns for 1,716 yards, one touchdown, and 19 punt returns for 971 yards.
In his senior year (2019), he broke Jerry Rice’s record (103 catches) with 104 catches for 1,437 yards and eight touchdowns. Rowland was named Deacon Jones Black College Hall of Fame Football Player of the Year and Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
