Attach the word “journeyman” to Luis Perez, and it takes on added meaning. Because the question to ask the Arlington Renegades quarterback is not where he’s played professional football, but where he hasn’t.
And man, it’s been quite the journey.
Perez, 28, had two stints with the Los Angeles Rams and one with the Philadelphia Eagles, although his only NFL action came in a 2018 preseason game.
In 2019 it was off to the Alliance of American Football and the Birmingham Iron, which folded after the money ran out eight weeks into its only season.
When I talked with Perez last year, he said he enjoyed his time with the Iron – who had already qualified for the AAF playoffs with a 5-3 record before the plug was pulled.
“I remember back in 2019 being drafted by Birmingham and thinking, ‘Man, I’ve never been to Birmingham … this should be fun,” Perez said. “And it was. Being around all the guys who were excited to play, and then being able to beat Memphis (26-0) in that first game here … that’s a great memory.”
In 2020 he played with both the New York Guardians and Los Angeles Wildcats in XFL 2.0, which made it through half its schedule before it was shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021 he suited up for the Jousters of The Spring League, which didn’t pay players but I guess could’ve been considered “pro adjacent.” Plus, it was something of a proof of concept league that led to the modern United States Football League.
Speaking of which … in 2022 Perez helped lift the lid on the new USFL with the New Jersey Generals. (Fun fact: He played five home games in Birmingham while suiting up for the Iron, and 10 as a member of the Generals due to all regular season contests being held in the Birmingham hub).
And today?
Well, he’s on his second team in the XFL’s first season of its third incarnation.
Perez began the 2023 campaign with the Vegas Vipers but was traded to the Renegades on March 28. Since repping the club that plays in Texas’ Mid-Cities region, he’s helped engineer one of the most unlikely stories in the XFL’s comeback season.
And that story coincides with the fact that for the first time in his professional career, he has a chance to lead his team to a championship.
The eight team XFL features a North and South Division, and the playoff format is pretty simple; the top two teams in each division make the playoffs, with No. 1 facing No. 2 in the opening round.
The DC Defenders won the North with a 9-1 record, while the Seattle Sea Dragons finished second at 7-3 – edging the St. Louis Battlehawks, also 7-3, based on tiebreakers.
The Houston Roughnecks took top honors in the South with a 7-3 mark, followed by the 4-6 Renegades.
St. Louis fans were no doubt wishing the XFL had a modified version of the Canadian Football League crossover rule in which a team in one division can take the postseason spot of one in the other if it has a better record, but it doesn’t.
Thus, Arlington qualified despite having three more defeats and three less victories than the Battlehawks – as well as a 24-11 loss to St. Louis in Week Four.
The rules are what they are, however, and once the playoffs begin all participants get a reset.
Arlington made the most of its chance as the Renegades (5-6) upset the Roughnecks, 26-11, on Saturday to win the South crown and advance to the title game against DC (the 10-1 Defenders beat the Sea Dragons, 37-21, on Sunday).
Perez had one of his best games as a pro last weekend, connecting on 19 of 27 passes for 289 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
While the result was surprising – certainly to Houston – Perez said he knew he and his team belonged in the postseason.
“I think the biggest thing is that it’s about us,” he said. “We’re not really worried about who’s doubting us, who’s not, who’s this, who’s that. We believed, and that’s the most important thing. We believed in the locker room. We knew what we were capable of.”
His numbers with the Vipers weren’t bad at all – he was 79-121-5 for 900 yards and eight touchdowns. But entering the championship he has gone 88-129-2 for 1,019 yards and four touchdowns with Arlington.
It didn’t take long for him to get on the same page with his receivers.
“The biggest thing was having them trust me,” Perez said. “We’ve got to build that trust together, and I think you’ve seen that progression each and every week. Coach (Bob Stoops) does a great job putting us in a position to do that.”
In an alternative football league career that began just four years ago, Perez has already put up an impressive stat line … 649-1032-26 through the air for 6,994 yards and 42 TDs.
On May 13, he’ll try to make positive additions to those totals in the XFL title showdown – a game he hopes will prove to fans the Renegades’ appearance is not a fluke.
“If you go watch the first game in Orlando, I think you can see that we got better each and every week,” the QB said. “We had a little bit of a drop-off last week (a 25-9 Week 10 loss to Houston) but that was part of the plan … we didn’t really use all the plays we were getting ready to use (in the playoff rematch).
“Nobody lost confidence, nobody lost hope. We all knew the team we can be, and we believed it.”
Arlington vs. DC might not be the matchup most people expected, but it fits right in with Perez’s remarkable alt-football odyssey.