The individual team depth charts for the XFL has been released and there are a number of names that should look familiar, either from the USFL and even NFL. The third incarnation of the league will kick off this coming weekend and there is an air of excitement and anticipation to see how it turns out with attendance and ratings alike. There has been some good marketing done to put it in front of fans of the gridiron game and that will hopefully result in asses in the stadium seats and in front of the television.
ST. LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS – AJ McCarron
The 32-year-old veteran was originally a 2014 fifth round draft choice of the Cincinatti Bengals out of the University of Alabama. Projected to go two or three rounds higher, McCarron was allegedly passed over due to an air of cockiness he displayed in pre-draft interviews with a number of organizations. He started a mere three games in four seasons in The Jungle. He signed a free agent contract with the Buffalo Bills in 2018 but was traded to the Oakland Raiders right before the regular season started. He then became somewhat of a journeyman with only one more carer start after signing with the Houston Texans and Atlanta Flacons. His last time on a football field ended with a cart ride after tearing his ACL in a week 2 preseason game for the Falcons.
Back-up Quarterbacks:Nick Tiano, Manny Wilkins
ORLANDO GUARDIANS – Paxton Lynch
Viewed as the long term solution after Peyton Manning retired and the Tim Tebow experiment, Lynch was drafted 26th overall in 2016 by the Denver Broncos, who traded first and third round picks to move up for the Memphis product. The 6’7″ signal caller saw some action backing up the surprising Trevor Siemian and started two games. In his sophomore season, Lynch suffered a number of setbacks due to various injuries that began in the preseason and followed him throughout the campaign. He did start the finale and had a nice performance, but was relegated to the back-up role and by the time the exhibition games began, Lynch was demoted as a third stringer. By the time the regular season was ready to begin, the Broncos cut Lynch and he ended up spending short stints with the Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers and Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL without seeing any regular season action. Last season, Lynch was with the Michigan Panthers if the USFL but suffered a leg injury in Week 3. He returned later in the season and played fairly well, but the Panthers parted ways with him and now Lynch, 29, will look to extend his career in the XFL.
Back-up Quarterbacks: Quinten Dormady, Deondre Francois
SAN ANTONIO BRAHMAS – Jack Coan
The Long Island, New York native had quite the interesting college career, putting up impressive numbers for two Division 1 schools. He saw limited playing time in his first two years at Wisconsin, but made the most of his opportunity in 2019, going 10-4 as the starter with over 2,700 yards, 18 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions. Coan unfortunately suffered an inquiry that shelved him the entire following season. He transferred to Notre Dame as a graduate student and in 13 starts, Chan went 11-2 with 3,150 yards, 25 touchdowns and 7 picks. He went undrafted in 2022, was picked up by the Indianapolis Colts and was released in one of their final cuts.
Back-up Quarterbacks: Jason Pass, Reid Sinnett
D.C. DEFENDERS – Jordan Ta’amu
Undrafted in 2019 out of Ole Miss, the Pearl City, Hawaii native had a cup of coffee in the Houston Texans’ training camp before being waived. He was then allocated to the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL (2020 version). Ta’amu started the team’s five games with decent numbers before Covid arrived and cut the season short. He then made the rounds in the NFL (even two separate but short stints in Detroit and Kansas City) before being selected by the USFL’s Tampa Bay Bandits. He started all 10 games and had a pedestrian campaign, but showed some promise as a mobile quarterback, averaging over six yards a carry.
Back-up Quarterbacks: Eric Dungy, D’Eriq King
ARLINGTON RENEGADES – Drew Plitt
Plitt played a total ion six seasons at Ball State (red shirt year and the Covid-shortened season) and threw for over 9,000 yards in his NCAA career. After going undrafted in 2022, he was inked by the Bengals and saw some preseason action before being released late that August.
Back-up Quarterbacks: Kyle Slater, Kevin Anderson
HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS – Brandon Silvers
A four-year starter at Troy University, Silvers went undrafted in 2018 and was invited to the New Orleans Saints training camp. He left without a contract and then was drafted in 2019 by the Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football. He began as third in line by two former NFL draft picks in Zach Mettenberger and Christian Hackenberg. The latter played horrendously and the former was hurt in Week 6, so Silvers was tapped to start and ended up splitting time with another former NFL quarterback, Johnny Manziel. His production was marginal in five games (two starts) before the league ceased operations. After a brief cameo at New York Jets mini camp, Silvers signed with the Seattle Dragons of the XFL and started four games before that league, too, had to pull the plug early. He displayed some talent in 2021 as part of The Spring League and now will look to add to that as part ion the revamped XFL.
Back-up Quarterbacks: Kaleb Eleby, Cole McDonald
SEATTLE SEA DRAGONS – Ben DiNucci
DiNucci was a seventh round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 2020 and spent two seasons there – playing in three games in his rookie campaign and the next on their practices squad. He was eventually waived and allocated to Seattle in the new XFL.
Back-up Quarterbacks: Harrison Frost, Steve Montez
VEGAS VIPERS – Luis Perez
The well-traveled 28-year-old will be playing in the XFL for the second time and also has logged in games in the AAF, The Spring League and USFL. In 2018, Perez went undrafted but played in the preseason for the Los Angeles Rams before being cut. He led the New Jersey Generals to the USFL playoffs and had a very productive season. He was briefly signed by the Philadelphia Eagles and Rams again before becoming a free agent.
Back-up Quarterbacks: Brett Huntley, Japan McClendon
