St. Louis BattleHawks at DC Defenders injury report

Who is out or questionable for Week 5 of the new and improved XFL? We break down the DC and St. Louis final injury reports.

By Chet Gresham@ChetGresham Mar 8, 2020, 4:45am PDT

St. Louis Battlehawks running back Matt Jones (24) celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter of the XFL game between the St. Louis BattleHawks and Houston Roughnecks on February 16, 2020 at TDECU Stadium in Houston, Texas.

The BattleHawks take their 3-1 record and East Division lead into DC to take on the 2-2 tumbling Defenders. The BattleHawks come in as -7.5 favorites after Cardale Jones has gone completely in the tank with five interceptions in his last two games. Jordan Ta’amu, on the other hand, continues to play solid football as a passer and runner, with last week’s game being his best rated game on the season.

The BattleHawks seem to have had a virus infiltrate their ranks, as three players are listed as questionable with an illness, running back Christine Michael, cornerback Robert Nelson and cornerback Marquez White. Michael and White both were full participants on Friday, so are likely to go, while Nelson was out on Thursday. Nelson has contributed well so far this season, so his loss would be impactful.

Matt Jones continues to deal with a knee issue but also keeps on playing and had a full practice on Friday, so there’s little doubt he will play despite his questionable tag.

The Defenders could use Elijah Campbell after he missed last week, as he has graded out as their best cornerback by Pro Football Focus. He’s listed as questionable after getting limited practices in, so there is a chance.

They also have cornerbacks Doran Grant and Desmond Lawrence listed as questionable. They’ve gotten awful grades from PFF this season, but there’s no doubt the Defenders secondary isn’t super healthy.