This weekend, the 103rd NFL season ends. Next weekend, the third first season of the XFL begins.
On Thursday, the XFL sent out a press release with all rosters. As I unwind after a fun week of Radio Row activities with a beer and a cigar (which may or may not contain something stronger than tobacco), I’ll put together a list of the recognizable names that jumped off the page while I scrolled through the players on the eight teams of XFL 3.0.
The biggest name with NFL ties is Seattle receiver Josh Gordon, who in 2013 with the Browns had more receiving yards than Randy Moss or Terrell Owens ever generated in a single season.
Other names that rang a fairly clear bell are: Arlington quarterback Kyle Sloter; Arlington cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc; Arlington punter Marquette King; D.C. quarterback Jordan Ta’amu; Orlando quarterback Paxton Lynch; Orlando receiver Eli Rogers; Seattle quarterback Ben DiNucci; St. Louis quarterback A.J. McCarron; Vegas receiver Martavis Bryant; Vegas quarterback Brett Hundley; Vegas receiver Geronimo Allison; and Vegas linebacker Vic Beasley.
Plenty of other players with NFL experience are on the initial rosters. The re-reconstituted league was doing well in its second iteration before the pandemic. We’ll see if it sticks around this time.
The USFL, meanwhile, will return for a second season of its second run in April.
