The Houston Roughnecks re-signed wide receiver Emmanuel Butler, defensive back Colby Richardson, and placekicker J.J. Molson on Tuesday according to the UFL Transactions page.
Emmanuel Butler is six foot three and weighs 221 pounds. The 27-year-old from Phoenix, Arizona, signed with the Houston Gamblers on June 6, 2023. He made one catch for 18 yards in one game. In 2024, Butler made 16 catches for 238 yards and one touchdown in 10 games.
Butler signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent on May 2, 2017. He spent two seasons on the practice squad. Next, Butler signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on March 26, 2021, but was released on July 30, 2021.
Butler re-signed with the Ticats on December 30, 2021. In 2022, Butler made three catches for 30 yards in one game. The Ticats released him on August 2, 2022. After Hamilton, Butler signed with the Ottawa Redblacks on February 9, 2023. Butler signed with the San Antonio Brahmas (XFL) on March 8, 2023, and was released by the Ottawa Redblacks on March 9, 2023.
The Brahmas released Butler on April 28, 2023, and he re-signed with the Ottawa Redblacks on May 8, 2023. Butler played one preseason game against the Toronto Argonauts making two catches for 79 yards. The Redblacks released him on June 3, 2023.
Collegiately, Butler played five seasons at Northern Arizona (2014-18) with 187 catches for 3,217 yards, 33 touchdowns, and six tackles in 45 games for the Lumberjacks.
Butler is a two-time All-Big Sky First Team (2015-16), 2015 Sporting News Fab Fifty-First Team, 2015 Associated Press First Team All-America, 2015 STATS Second Team All-America, and 2018 HERO Sports Preseason All-America Third Team.
Colby Richardson is six foot one and weighs 190 pounds. The 26-year-old from New Orleans, Louisiana, signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent on May 12, 2023.
The Panthers released him on August 4, 2023, and he signed with the Detroit Lions on August 13, 2023. He made five tackles (4 solo, 1 assist) in two preseason games before the Lions released him on August 27, 2023.
The Houston Gamblers signed Richardson on December 26, 2023, before the Gamblers were rebranded as the Roughnecks. In 2024, Richardson made 30 tackles (27 solo, 3 assists), one tackle for loss, four pass breakups, and one interception in 10 games.
Collegiately, Richardson played five seasons at McNeese State (2017-21) with 57 tackles (45 solo, 12 assists), two tackles for loss, one sack, three interceptions, 14 pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery in 29 games for the Cowboys.
Then, Richardson transferred to LSU in 2022 with 12 tackles (6 solo, 6 assists) in 12 games, of which five were starts for the Tigers.
J.J. Molson is five foot eleven and weighs 180 pounds. The 27-year-old from Montreal, Quebec, went undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft and signed with the Los Angeles Chargers on December 4, 2020, and was placed on the practice squad before he was released three days later.
Molson signed with the Green Bay Packers on December 20, 2020. He spent a couple of seasons on and off the Green Bay Packers practice squad. In the 2021 preseason, Molson had six kickoffs for 398 yards with a long of 70 yards, one touchback, and made one extra point in three games.
The Houston Roughnecks signed Molson on February 24, 2024. In 2024, Molson made 15 of 18 field goals (83.3%) with a long of 62 yards, 40 kickoffs for 2,708 yards, and one touchback in 10 games.
Collegiately, Molson played four seasons at UCLA (2016-19) making 51 of 74 field goals (68.9%) with a long of 50 yards, making 151 of 152 extra points (99.3%), 266 kickoffs for 16,758 yards (63.0 AVG), 145 touchbacks, four kicks out of bounds, and four tackles (4 solo) in 49 games for the Bruins.
