The player moves of the European League of Football are very well documented. There have been countless this season and every team has released their fair share of players. Many reasons can come into play when it comes to letting a player go including work visas, family issues, contracts, performance, player restrictions and many more. Today we are looking at the ones that are the biggest head scratchers and left everyone more than a bit confused. There could be logical reasons, but those reasons have been left unknown to the public.
Let’s get straight into it.
Christian Strong and Jarvis McClam – Raiders Tirol
This one is baffling still to this day, Strong was a top-five QB in the league this season. His 17-7 touchdown to interception ratio is right around the other top-level QBs, and the Raiders were winning games. The domino effect of releasing Strong was losing an excellent receiver and specialist in Jarvis McClam who was in the top five for every receiving category at the time of his release. From McClam’s appearance on Silas Nacita’s podcast, he explained that allegedly the team wasn’t happy with Strong’s performance and other players wanted to see more of the ball. This is speculation of course as there hasn’t been an official word from the Raiders, but disrupting the offense right before the playoffs and making the most important position learn the playbook on the move is a risky strategy that remains to be seen if it’ll work.
Josh Johnston – Barcelona Dragons
Johnston was quietly a very critical weapon for the Dragons at the time of his release. He opened up the offence tremendously for players like Theodor Landström to find success. A total of 600 yards and two touchdowns in seven games is certainly good production and with two games over 140 yards, he showed he could have been in a great receiver duo and a solid replacement for the loss of Kyle Sweet last season. However, it wasn’t meant to be and in week 9 he was released by the team for unknown reasons. The replacement receiver they brought in hasn’t been able to match Johnston’s production thus far.
Jerod Evans – Fehervar Enthroners
This one may be controversial, as Evans was not at the elite level that was expected when he first signed with the Hungarian outfit given his experience in America and Japan. That being said, he had zero support on his offensive line, run game and receivers and wasn’t given any further support when it became obvious how bad this team was. He was getting battered and bruised and still managed to put up some average performances. The top QBs in the league couldn’t have done much better in that situation. He was cut in week 4 and since then the season hasn’t gotten any better for the new franchise.
Tofunmi Lala – Hamburg Sea Devils
As a close follower of the UK American football leagues, it was a surprise to see Lala sign with the Hamburg Sea Devils. The 20-year-old running back/receiver out of Nottingham University is an immensely talented athlete and return specialist. However, he’s never returned ELF-style kicks and has never played in a league comparable to the ELF. He was signed in week 5, dressed only in week 7 and was released in week 9. As an EU spot was taken by Lala at this time it was a very head-scratching move by the Sea Devils. They could have signed any number of players in those weeks and didn’t give Lala any opportunity. Overall, just an odd move all around.
In summary…
This list isn’t to point out these players for being released of course, but it should be announced why players have been released in my opinion. Players being asked to move across the world to be cut only a week later is never a good deal. Maybe an ELFPA (European League of Football Players Association) might come around in the future to deal with this. Again, a massive thank you to @ELFpedia.eu. Their database and free-use stats are huge tools for lists and information.
Honorable Mentions:
Victor Wharton III – Prague Lions
Kelechi Dyke – Vienna Vikings
Toby Lettmann – Raiders Tirol