NFL teams snapping up XFL talent for 2020 season
The XFL returned in 2020 after a nearly two-decade hiatus. The renegade spring football season was entertaining and certainly presented an exciting alternative to a time of the year without gridiron action. Compared to the original version of the XFL, version 2.0 offered an improved talent pool of players who were overlooked in the NFL or fell in the gray area between the league and top-level college football. The NFL 2020 season is nearing and gridiron fans are growing in excitement for the first games of the campaign. Fans can use the Draftkings sportsbook promo code to wager on their favorite team when the new NFL season starts.
Since the XFL suspended play in March, players have been free to look for alternative employment and the NFL has not hesitated to snap up players for the 2020 campaign. The league’s two best offensive players have already found new homes with the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs adding quarterbacks P.J. Walker and Jordan Ta’amu to one-year contracts, respectively.
The signal callers were the highest profile XFL stars during the 2020 season to sign NFL contracts but there have been others to follow them into the elite football league. The Pittsburgh Steelers added defensive tackle Cavon Walker hoping he can duplicate his XFL sacks total of 4.5. There is a chance even more players could join the NFL from the XFL when training camps kickoff in mid-July.
Why are NFL team signing XFL players?
The original XFL showcased players that were middle of the road college players, guys who had never had a chance in the NFL, or were at the ends of their careers. The first season of XFL 2.0 was much different as the last 20 years have seen better development of football players from high school up to the pros. NFL training camps kick off on July 15 giving teams around the league the chance to put their squads together. The preseason begins in August and fans can visit this website to get a bet bonus before wagering on the first week of preseason action.
There just are not enough places on NFL rosters and it is easy to overlook players in modern football. The XFL offered these marginalized and overlooked players the opportunity to rebuild their careers and audition for a place on an NFL roster.
For years there has been talk of a feeder league for the NFL and the XFL could finally be that minor league system that has been needed. The original XFL enabled a number of players to go onto careers in the NFL. Tommy Maddox was the most significant player of the original XFL stars to go onto the NFL. After leading the Los Angeles Xtreme to the XFL Championship, he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers and led the team to a win in Super Bowl XL.
A win-win situation
NFL teams are taking little risk signing an ex-XFL player to a one-year contract – which is what most have signed – compared to drafting a collegiate player. After playing college football and in the XFL, the former renegade football league stars could be more ready for the rigors of the NFL.
Financially teams are able to add depth for very little money by raiding the XFL. Both Walker and Ta’amu will compete for the back-up quarterback positions with their respective teams. If either start games and lead their teams to victories, then it is a win-win situation for the franchises.
In the case of Ta’amu, he competed in preseason for the Houston Texans before being cut in 2019. He has experience in the NFL environment, albeit brief; but more importantly, he is enough like Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes that the hope is he could replicate the starting signal caller’s play if called upon.
XFL players offer a small risk, huge reward upside and the NFL has taken notice. If the NFL is smart, it will encourage the spring football league to return for 2021 to develop more players for its 32 teams.
