There’s always something wild going on in the UFL. On Monday, the Michigan Panthers traded WR Marcus Simms to the Houston Roughnecks, for OT Cam Carter. It’s a trade that shocked the entire world of spring football, with Michigan trading away arguably their most valuable skills weapon on offense.
This trade makes little sense, for both organizations. Let’s start with Michigan. They’ve had some struggles up front, with protection issues being one of the areas that needs improvement. At tackle, Chim Okorafor hasn’t been great, which was on display during their loss to Birmingham on Friday night.
So, the Panthers have decided to bring in Cam Carter, from Houston. Cam is a spring veteran, originally spending the 2023 USFL season with the New Jersey Generals. Carter had an excellent year, and was a key component to New Jersey boasting the top rushing attack in the USFL.
Last season, Carter was a starter for Houston, playing in nine games with the team. He had a 45.4 Pass Blocking Grade/62.8 Run Blocking Grade that year, via PFF. Cam started the last two weeks of action for the Roughnecks, but now gets shipped off to Michigan. Carter is a solid tackle, but he isn’t of “star status”, the same way that Marcus Simms is.
Sending off Simms is an absolutely wild move from Steve Kazor, Mike Nolan, and this Panthers organization. Marcus burst onto the scene late in 2023, and was one of the main reasons why Michigan made their playoff push that year. Last season, Simms was electric – earning All-UFL as one of the fastest receivers in the league.