XFL had a really promising future as soon as their debut season started in 2020. Not only a high mastership of the players of the league but also a smart marketing campaign gave high hopes for XFL to become on a level with NFL and perform as the world’s second major football league. It became highly popular with sports betting sites: according to Superbetting.com, the odds were more than competitive for this freshmen club. However, the Covid-19 pandemic disordered all arrangements for everyone in professional sports, and XFL could not be an exception. They had to end their very first season of 2020 prematurely and will be able to come back only in 2022 in case the financial condition allows them to do it. According to the information of tracker of players shows that many of them came from Los Angeles Rams, New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks.
XFL players
One of the key factors of the possible XFL success was the pool of really strong young players. Most of them have already made major gains in their NFL teams and decided to continue their career in brand new leagues. Some of them were not the NFL all-stars, so they searched for new opportunities in a new project. After the temporary shut-down of the league, some of them went back from XFL to NFL or remained undrafted free agents. The others opted for the CFL teams like Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Let’s see who came to the new organization from the world-wide famous NFL.
Taylor Heinicke
Being a young athlete, Taylor was awarded CAA Player of the Year in 2012 and four other prizes during his college career. However, he could not be called an instant success during his post-college performance: a range of severe injuries left him on the reserve list for quite a long time in the NFL and probably slowed down his professional advancement.
In 2017 he was a part of the New England Patriots practice squad and then a practice squad of the Houston Texans; soon he managed to become one of the active rosters later. He left the next year and could not again do his best due to another trauma. His career in NFL continued with the Carolina Panthers where he performed as a quarterback. However, he failed to be included in the final rosters so in 2019 he opted for the St Louis BattleHawks of the newly-run XFL but didn’t have time to even play at least once before the company was suspended.
Kenny Robinson
Kenny Robinson is another freshman in American Football. His career started in college, however, he was sent down from the university and went directly to XFL as he needed to earn money immediately. He signed for the St. Louis BattleHawks after the draft pick as a defensive back. The interesting fact is that he could be drafted the NFL too and was the only of all XFL players with such a privilege. His first steps showed he was a budding player and as soon as the season started, he has managed to get The XFL Star of The Week award. After the infamous events of 2020, he changed XFL to NFL and is currently on the active roster of the Carolina Panthers.
Jacques Patrick
Today Jacques Patrick is in a practice squad of Cincinnati Bengals and might sign a contract next year, but who knows what his career would be like today if not coronavirus pandemic. However, he is at the very beginning of his professional path in football: his first draft ever was in the XFL in 2020, where he was supposed to play for the Tampa Bay Vipers.
Jordan Ta’amu
Jordan Ta’amu is currently a quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, the Super Bowl winners (NFL). Before this, he was a quarterback in the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL. It was supposed to be his first professional regular season ever — while the other quarterbacks had at least one season of former experience. With the help of the other members and the head coach, he helped his team to win against the Renegades and showed a nice performance in the game against the Houston Roughnecks.
Dravon Askew Henry
Dravon was quite a successful football player in school so post-school recruiting was not an issue for him. However, in spite of the fact that he was one of the top players of Pennsylvania, Dravon Askew Henry was not drafted in 2019 with the NFL; he signed with several teams in different periods of time in 2019 but did not actually play at that year. The next year he joined the New York Guardians of the XFL where he played in four games with ten solo tackles, and six pass breakups. He is a free agent at the moment.
Andrew Soroh
Soroh was a part of the New York Guardians of the XFL and was valued as one of the strongest defensive backs. However, as the league’s operations were suspended, he went back to Kansas City Chiefs which he tried to join before 2019. However, at that time he was in a practice squad and did not make the final rosters. As he has already gained experience in Chiefs, he might gain an advantage over the other freshmen so football fans are looking forward to seeing him in action.
Tyree Jackson
Another player who transferred from XFL to NFL immediately after the coronavirus outbreak is Tyree Jackson. He was a member of the DC Defenders and is currently signed for the Philadelphia Eagles. He failed to pass the final roster cuts of the Buffalo Bills of the NFL and was drafted in the XFL pick instead. At the moment, he is with the Philadephia Eagles as a tight end.
Cardale Jones
Cardale Jones is a QB free agent who started playing football in Ohio when he was in college. He is not already a freshman: his professional career started in 2016 in the NFL; he also played for LA Chargers and the Seahawks and tried to develop in the DC Defenders of the new league. An interesting fact: he was also a basketball player in college but finally chose a career as a footballer. In XFL, he went under the patronage of his college coach.
Colin Thompson
Despite a severe foot trauma which he injured twice in the early years and college period, he has managed to get a scholarship at Temple University and continue playing even though doctors claimed he was ineligible for football. He also works as the radio reporter for Temple Owls games. He showed a good performance in the short period of the XFL season and has currently signed for the Carolina Panthers.
Josh Hawkins
Hawkins is a cornerback who started his career at East Carolina and then played for NFL from 2016 till 2018. He changed several teams in the NFL until he signed for the XFL after their draft in the Dallas Renegades. After the contract with the Dallas Renegades was terminated, he went back to the NFL and also changed several practice squads of the spring league.
Jarron Jones
Jarron Jones was a part of the New York Guardians as one of the offensive linemen. Before and after the XFL, he was drafted by the NFL teams. At the moment he is in a reserve of the Steelers, however, his future in the league is quite unclear at the moment after the latest scandal with the criminal complaint of the assault from Jones’ girlfriend. The XFL news and NFL laters update have not mentioned his name after this incident yet.
Nick Moore
Nick Moore performs as a snapper and at the moment he is an active player of the Baltimore Ravens. In college, he was a linebacker, and after his short professional career starts in 2019 with the National League, he was signed with the Tampa Bay Vipers. Before, he was a part of an offseason team in New Orleans Saints. He had time to play six games in the inaugural season and three days after the announcement of the league suspension he came to Baltimore Ravens.
Deatrick Nichols
Deatrick Nichols is currently playing as a cornerback in the CFL. He was chosen to the XFL’s Houston Roughnecks after the training camp and recorded twenty-four tackles and three interceptions which were one of the best results in the league. After the XFL could no more offer him a contract, he joined the CFL and still plays in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Jeff Badet
Jeff Badet is a wide receiver who grew from a Kentucky college football team. He was the fourth person to be drafted for the XFL and played for the Dallas Renegades. For most time of his career, he remained a free agent and played for several NFL teams. He was determined one of the best in the 40 Yards of Gold, a test competition that shows how fast the NFL players are.
Donald Parham
Parham is a freshman who started playing football at the University; his first professional agreement was signed with the Detroit Lions. The ninth round of selection of the XFL ended in Parham having been picked up by the Dallas Renegades. He played two games in four weeks and made his first reception in the whole professional career. It was a 19-yard touchdown pass from a rookie QB.
PJ Walker
The XFL milestone for PJ Walker started in 2019 when he was picked in the draft. He was supposed to be in the Pittsburgh Steelers but finally signed with Houston Roughnecks. His first game resulted in four touchdowns and helped the team to win over the Los Angeles Wildcats. He was the first player of XFL who was awarded the Star of the Week title.
