The XFL continues to attract football talent from around the continent, as Derek Dennis joins the XFL’s reserve pool in Team Nine.
The 31-year-old is a 3x CFL West All-Star with nods in 2016, 2018 and 2019, and he won the Grey Cup with the Calgary Stampeders two years ago. He spent the first four years of his pro career as a reserve player with the Dolphins, Patriots, Bears, and Panthers, and even made an appearance in Arena Ball. He couldn’t crack a starting lineup in the NFL however, so he made his way north to Canada in 2015. The rest is history.
@6BONECRUSHER3 (as he’s known on twitter) exploded onto the scene in his first year in Calgary, earning the starting LT job and keeping it through their playoff run. In 2016, he started all 18 games on the line, held down the blindside and earned the CFL’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award.
That year, he flashed serious skills as both a pass blocker (Calgary had the fewest sacks allowed) and as a mauler in the run game (RB Jerome Messam held the CFL Rushing Title in 2016).
He signed with Saskatchewan in 2017, started 15 games there and moved back to Calgary. In 2018 he was a 20-game starter at LT and won the Grey Cup, and in his second run with the Stampeders, he earned two more Western Division All-Star Spots.
He’s put up elite performances at a premium position and has yet to re-sign with Calgary this offseason. The fact that he’s bringing his talents back to America in the XFL is incredible for the league, and while he gets up to speed on Team Nine the XFL’s 8 teams will be vying to bring him into their buildings.
With 72 pro starts and a long list of awards, he’s by far the most accomplished lineman in the XFL. At 31 years old with just 5 years of pro mileage and a massive 6’3″ 345-pound frame, I can guarantee that teams are frothing at the bit to sign him.
