The St. Louis BattleHawks have traded cornerback Charles James II and offensive lineman Juwann Bushell-Beatty to the Houston Renegades for cornerback Robert Nelson.
The former Charleston Southern was a late-round addition to the BattleHawks roster, while Bushell-Beatty was picked in the ninth round of the offensive lineman section. Nelson was a second-rounder during phase four. Aaron Wilson had the news first, and James later tweeted his excitement to be heading back to Houston as well. The rest of the deal was later disclosed on the xfl.com transaction page.
James spent considerable time in the NFL with the Giants, Texans, and Colts. He played in 34 games over four seasons, recording 2 passes defended in that stretch according to pro-football-reference.com. He also was a standout player with the Memphis Express in the Spring of 2019, he started in three games for the Express and played in all eight that year. While starting for Memphis he logged 20 tackles and broke up five passes, including four against the high-flying Orlando Apollo’s offense.
Bushell-Beatty came late to the sport of football, with a Michigan assistant coach, then his highs school football coach poaching him off of the basketball team. Beatty went undrafted after a solid senior year at Michigan, but spent time during the preseason with Washington and Dallas. Beatty will provide more size and athleticism for the Roughnecks.
Robert Nelson is a well-traveled pro who could provide a boost to an already solid St. Louis secondary. Nelson left Arizona State in 2013 and bounced around the NFL from 2014-2018, during that time he played in 20 games, intercepted one pass and recorded 24 total tackles. During the Spring of 2019, he spent time with the Arizona Hotshots of the AAF, where he started six games, had 21 tackles and intercepted a pass Week 1 to seal an Arizona victory.
Nelson will certainly provide a boost to an already strong St. Louis secondary. Heading into roster cutdowns this week, St. Louis appears poised to take one of the stronger secondaries into Week 1.
