On July 24th, a string of signings that saw “alt-football” players move up to the NFL ranks took place. Several individuals from XFL and USFL teams earned NFL contracts, including three who were once on the Houston Roughnecks roster. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the players involved.
The first player on this list, and the player who had the largest impact in Houston out of the three, is offensive lineman Jack Snyder. Snyder was the Roughnecks’ first offensive lineman off the board during the 2022 XFL draft, having started over 50 games for the San Jose State Spartans.
Prior to his time with the Roughnecks, he also appeared in training camp with the Los Angeles Rams. Snyder would go on to start in nine of Houston’s ten regular season games, primarily at left guard. Following the conclusion of the XFL season, he received workout invitations from both the Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins. Now, the Minnesota Vikings have added Snyder to their roster, just in time for training camp.
The next player on the list is wide receiver Davion Davis, who appeared in just two games for the Roughnecks before requesting his release. Unfortunately, he was unable to find a role in Houston’s offense despite being one of the more experienced receivers, and did not catch a pass during his tenure with the team.
After his departure from the XFL, Davis jumped over to the USFL and signed with the Birmingham Stallions. Led by quarterback Alex McGough, the Stallions would win the championship for the second year in a row (also their second year of existence).
Davis became the top receiving option on the squad, catching 39 passes for 575 yards and 4 touchdowns over the course of the regular season. As a result, he was picked up by the Arizona Cardinals, his fourth NFL team since initially entering the league in 2019 (Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans).
The final player on the list is linebacker Diego Fagot, who was drafted by the Roughnecks but did not appear in a game (final roster cut). Fagot, who played college football at Navy, was initially signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2022. The former First-Team All-AAC defender will now head to his second NFL team.
