On Wednesday (3/29), the Vegas Vipers announced Jalan McClendon is going to be the QB1 vs the Brahmas on Saturday (4/1). This announcement comes a day after Luis Perez was traded to the Arlington Renegades, many people thought Brett Hundley would become the new starter but this late into the season the Vipers wanna see what they can do with a new QB1.
Jalan who is 27 years old has never really gotten a chance anywhere throughout his career. He attended NC State (2014-2017) where he hardly got time to play. He then transferred to Baylor (2018) to try and play more but wasn’t able to play as much as he wanted too due to them already having Charlie Brewer at QB1 for the season.
He was then signed to the Ravens as an undrafted free agent on May 13th of 2019 but was later cut only 4 days later. He was then signed by the Redskins in August of 2019 but only got preseason snaps but couldn’t get much going.
In 2020, McClendon found himself with an amazing opportunity in the XFL with the Los Angeles Wildcats. At the time McClendon had a solid shot to be the starter but was benched for Josh Johnson. In the first week of the season Jalan didn’t play but in Week 2 that all changed due to Josh Johnson getting injured.
McClendon had his first start but it didn’t go as everyone expected. He threw 1 for 4 with no passing yards and no passing touchdowns but he did instead throw an INT. The XFL season was then shutdown in week 5 which meant Jalan had to yet again find another team in another league.
The Vegas Vipers were assigned Jalan McClendon and Luis Perez back in November of 2022 before the draft. Jalan hasn’t been active in a single game but now see’s himself on the doorstep of what could be a huge oppurtunity to show everyone what he has been waiting to do his whole career. He has athletcism, speed, and an arm but just hasn’t gotten a chance.
This Saturday is the biggest game of his career, and we will all get to see what McClendon can finally do under the bright lights in a home game in Vegas vs the Brahmas.
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