The 31 players to leave Salford Red Devils in 2025 and where they are now

Joe Mellor became the latest Salford Red Devils man to seal a move to a new club on Friday as his switch to Bradford Bulls was confirmed.

The Salford exodus has been a running story throughout 2025 and we make it 31 departures when it comes to first-team playing staff alone. That’s not including Paul Rowley and Kurt Haggerty who have both moved on, too.

It means that Nene Macdonald and Esan Marsters are the only two remaining contracted players, although both are expected to move on, while as Jack Walker revealed to Serious About Rugby League last week, he has an agreement with the club for next year, too.

Next week looks set to be pivotal for the future of the club with December 3 the latest date set for the club’s HMRC hearing. And, should the club fail to find the funds needed to clear their debts, they could be put into liquidation, ending 152 years of history.

Hopefully it doesn’t come to that, especially with the new Championship season a month and a half away.

However, following Mellor’s departure, we’ve taken a look what happened next for those players who have moved on over the calendar year, staRting with Marc Sneyd, who was the first player to step through the exit door.

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Salford Red Devils’ 2025 exodus in full

Marc Sneyd

The half-back joined Warrington Wolves in March 2025 and went on to claim a record equalling third Lance Todd Trophy and make 23 outings for the club. However, he never really got the chance to build a head of steam alongside George Williams and the season ended in disappointment

Brad Singleton

The prop joined Castleford Tigers on a deal until the end of the 2026 season. He made 21 appearances for the Tigers last season

Tim Lafai

Lafai made the decision to call time on his career in March. It was a decision that brought an and to a career that spanned 15 years with most of those being spent in the NRL.

Kallum Watkins

Watkins returned to Leeds in April and he has found a new lease of life under Brad Arthur with his performances catapulting him back into the England picture. He made two appearances in the Ashes for England.

Deon Cross

Cross joined boyhood club St Helens in April and scored five tries in 13 appearances for the club. His last effort came in the Super League play-off semi-final against Hull KR.

Chris Atkin

Atkin joined Singleton at Castleford in April and played 16 times in black and amber, with appearances coming at scrum-half, hooker and even at loose-forward.

Harvey Wilson

Catalans Dragons confirmed in July that they had signed Wilson for the 2026 season and beyond. He has now started pre-season training in Perpignan.

Declan Murphy

Like Wilson, Murphy stayed with Salford until the end of the season but he did see a deal with Hull KR announced in August. He’ll be keen to impress in east Hull in 2026.

Chris Hill

Hill made the move to Bradford Bulls in August and made six appearances for his new club, but rather than stick around for another season in Super League, he made the decision to hang up his boots.

Chris Hankinson

The outside back spent the final months of the season with Leeds Rhinos and he has now signed a deal for 2026 at Headingley

Ryan Brierley

The full-back was a favourite at Salford and he stuck around for the majority of the season. However, he moved on in August to join Championship club Oldham. He made five appearances for the second tier outfit at the end of the season.

Jack Ormondroyd

The forward was regularly linked with moves away from Salford through 2025 before he eventually joined Oldham alongside Brierley. He made six outings for the Roughyeds through August and September.

Ben Hellewell

The forward made the decision to step into retirement after struggling with injury throughout the campaign.

Billy Glover

The youngster switched codes in August, joining Preston Grasshoppers.

Joe Bullock

Bullock spent much of the season with Barrow Raiders but he joined them permanently in August, returning to one of his former clubs. He has signed a two-year deal with the Cumbria outfit.

Ethan Fitzgerald

The youngster made a loan move to Swinton Lions permanent and he will be with the club though 2026.

Matty Foster

The former St Helens youngster joined Oldham at the end of August on a deal until the end of the season but he has since signed for Super League new boys York Knights.

Ethan Ryan

Like Foster, Ryan joined Oldham on a short-term deal in August. However, he will be lining up in the colours of Bradford Bulls next season having returned to his first club.

Shane Wright

Wright joined St Helens in August on an initial loan and that was made permanent at the end of September. The back-rower has already written his name into St Helens folklore by scoring the dramatic ‘Left to Wright’ try after the hooter against Leeds Rhinos. That try sent Paul Wellens side through in the play-off semi-finals, where they were beaten by Hull KR.

Charlie Glover

The youngster has penned a deal with North Wales Crusaders for 2026.

Jayden Nikorima

The half-back spent a little over 12 months at Salford, but he’ll be starring in the Bradford Bulls pivots next season, it has been confirmed.

Sam Davis

The hooker joined from London Broncos ahead of the 2025 season and he has returned down south, signing a new deal with Jason Demetriou’s new look side.

Sam Stone

Stone spent much of the season on loan at Warrington Wolves, making 12 appearances and scoring three tries. And, he has now signed a permanent deal with Sam Burgess’ side.

Sam Hill

The winger was highly thought of at Salford and he made his first-team debut in May against Wigan. However, he has spent the last few weeks representing Baroudeurs de Pia in the French Super XIII.

Justin Sangare

Like Davis, the prop only joined Salford ahead of the 2025 season, but he has now penned a deal with York Knights for next season.

Loghan Lewis

Lewis struggled with injuries last season but he’ll be looking to find more traction in 2026 after signing with Bradford. He’ll be working under Haggerty, of course, who has taken over as head coach at Odsal.

Nathan Connell

Connell featured heavily for Salford last season but he’ll be wearing the colours of Widnes Vikings next season.

Jamie Pye

The front-rower has penned a two-year deal with Rochdale Hornets.

Joe Shorrocks

Shorrocks spent the back end of last season on loan with Leeds Rhinos but he couldn’t do enough to earn a permanent deal there. Instead, the loose-forward has joined Paul Rowley at St Helens, with a one-year deal being signed.

Kai Morgan

Morgan made 15 appearances for Salford last season and he’ll be looking to put that experience to good use after joining Sheffield Eagles.

Joe Mellor

The 35-year-old is another to have joined Bradford and he looks set to share the hooker role with Andy Ackers, another former Salford man.