The Tampa Bay Vipers have officially named Aaron Murray as the week one starter. The 29-year-old Tampa native was allocated as one of the “Tier 1” quarterbacks ahead of the 2020 XFL draft.
Your starting Quarterback.@AaronMurray11 | #WinTheDay pic.twitter.com/wfiaGLBLWh
— Tampa Bay Vipers (@XFLVipers) January 31, 2020
The move doesn’t come as that big of a surprise to Vipers fans, as Murray is one of four quarterbacks on the roster.
Murray attended Henry B. Plant high school which is only 3.6 miles from where the Vipers will be playing home games at Raymond James Stadium. The hometown kid went on to have an illustrious career at the University of Georgia, but a knee injury during his senior year caused the quarterback to fall to the 5th round of the 2014 draft where he was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Despite never playing a down for the Chiefs, Murray was a part of the team for over two years. After being released in September of 2016, he had stints with the Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, and Los Angeles Rams.
In 2018, Murray was a part of the now-defunct Alliance of American Football. He was the second overall selection in the quarterback round to the Atlanta Legends. He was featured in six games, starting four and posting a 64.8 completion percentage for 1048 yards and 3 touchdowns, he added 19 runs for 96 yards on the ground.
If Murray can limit turnovers, he can be an effective starter in the league. While playing in the AAF he had seven interceptions and three fumbles. In a fast-paced game like the XFL promises to be, turnovers will be killer.
Murray and the Vipers start their season on a two-game road trip, opening the season in East Rutherford, New Jersey against the New York Guardians on February 9th. Kick-off is on Fox at 2 PM.
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