The St. Louis Battlehawks released running back Jacob Saylors and offensive lineman Jaryd Jones-Smith on Monday according to the UFL Transactions page. Saylors is expected to sign with the New York Giants while Jones-Smith is signing with the Atlanta Falcons.
Jacob Saylors is five foot ten and weighs 199 pounds. The 22-year-old from Jasper, Tennessee, signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2023. He had nine carries for 27 yards and two catches for 14 games in one preseason game against the Washington Commanders in 2023.
After Cincinnati, Saylors signed with the Atlanta Falcons and was placed on the practice squad. Then, Saylors signed with the St. Louis Battlehawks on February 5, 2024. In 2024, Saylors had 94 carries for 461 yards, and five touchdowns, making 23 catches for 152 yards, and three touchdowns in nine games. In the playoffs against San Antonio, Saylors had 14 carries for 78 yards and made one catch for 11 yards.
Collegiately, Saylors played five seasons at East Tennessee State (2018-21) with 608 carries for 3,861 yards, 33 touchdowns, 91 catches for 779 yards, three touchdowns, and 57 kick returns for 1,425 yards in 51 games for the Buccaneers. He was named Second Team All-American by the Associated Press in 2021.
Jaryd Jones-Smith is six foot seven and weighs 320 pounds. The 28-year-old from Camden, New Jersey, signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He also had stints with the Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers, Las Vegas Raiders, and Baltimore Ravens. He played a combined six NFL regular season games for both Las Vegas and Baltimore. In addition, Jones-Smith played for the San Antonio Commanders (AAF) in 2019 playing eight games before the league folded.
St. Louis drafted Jones-Smith in the first round (7th pick) in Phase 4 of the 2023 XFL Draft. started eight games for the St. Louis Battlehawks in 2023 and was named to the All-XFL Team after the season. After the season, Jones-Smith signed with the Washington Commanders and was placed on the practice squad.
In 2024, Jones-Smith played ten games. St. Louis’s offense ranked sixth in total offense yards (2,721), third in rushing yards (977), seventh in passing yards (1,744), sixth in yards per game (272.1), and second in touchdowns (30).
Collegiately, Jones-Smith played four seasons at the University of Pittsburgh (2014-17) playing 33 games for the Panthers, of which 13 were starts. He was selected to play in the 2018 East-West Shrine Game.
