After getting the rough news that cornerback Josh Hawkins will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL, the Arlington Renegades added two defensive backs to their roster.
According to the xfl.com roster for Arlington, they have added defensive backs Jamar Johnson and Brandon Rusnak to the secondary.
The Renegades have seen their fair share of injuries in the secondary through three games of the season. Three defensive backs are on the reserve list including Nasir Greer, starting safety Jamal Carter, and starting cornerback Josh Hawkins. Carter’s news of his lower leg injury came on the injury report late last week where he was placed on the reserve list right before their 10-9 win against the Orlando Guardians.
Rusnak went undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft where he would sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He would play for the Jaguars from 2019 until 2022 recording ten tackles in three seasons with the team. Jacksonville released him in late August of last year before the start of the 2022 season.
Johnson found early success in college with Indiana earning first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2020. He finished his college career with 69 tackles, seven interceptions, four sacks, and a touchdown. The Denver Broncos drafted him in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He was released from the team in mid-August last year.
It was a necessary move for the Renegades to bring in two defensive backs to help support the secondary. Johnson will be able to fill the role of backup safety to Will Hill and Joe Powell with Carter no longer in the picture. Rusnak adds depth to the cornerbacks as it looks like the main guys will be De’Vante Bausby, Shakur Brown, and Darren Evans with Cre’Von LeBlanc and Jordan Miller being in the mix. Arlington’s secondary will have a challenge Sunday afternoon as they take on the St. Louis BattleHawks in St. Louis’ home opener.
