Potential NFL Quarterbacks that The XFL will target after September cuts

XFL Football discussion.
User avatar
MikeMitchell
UFLBoard Correspondent
Posts: 2133
Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2018 5:28 pm

Potential NFL Quarterbacks that The XFL will target after September cuts

Post by MikeMitchell »

The XFL is going to have scouts at NFL training camps and preseason games. The sole purpose of this, is to scout potential XFL players, that they will sign in preparation for the league's October draft. For a long time now, we have heard about the XFL signing players, when all 32 teams cut down their rosters from 90 to 53.

Not counting international designations, where some NFL teams are allowed to carry 91 players. There are currently 2,880 players on NFL rosters. What has to be factored in, is the 10 player practice squads per team. So the number, NFL teams are really cutting down to, is 63. There are going to be 320 players on NFL practice squads, come week one of their regular season. If a practice squad player remains on that squad, he will make roughly 120,000 dollars for the season. Despite the fact, that the XFL will be paying their top tier players 250 thousand per season. I am going to assume, that most if not all players take the NFL PS position instead. There might be a couple who don't. I would assume that the pitch would be for a Quarterback, more than likely.

Not counting any NFL players that end up on injured reserve for the 2019 season. The number of players left without a spot on an NFL roster is 864. The number of players that the XFL has stated, that they plan to sign is up to 700 players. This info is from the most recent Oliver Luck interviews. If the XFL signs 300 players from their showcases. That leaves about 400 players to be signed, from what would be the top half of the XFL rosters. The XFL will need a bare minimum of 600 players signed and drafted, for their 8 teams 75 player rosters going into OTA's and Mini-camps in the fall. They will eventually be pared down to 52 players per team. 45 active, 7 on the practice squad. There's also the matter of "Team Nine", a collection of players, roughly 30 to 40. So essentially signing and drafting players for a league that will have over 450 players on teams, when the XFL regular season begins in February.

With all those numbers out of the way. Let's take a look at the Quarterbacks, who I feel are the XFL's candidates for league contracts. These are all essentially players that are on the roster bubble. The 3rd and 4th quarter of NFL preseason games may have future XFL quarterbacks playing in them.

Quarterbacks

Danny Etling, Davis Webb, Luke Falk, Jake Rudock, Tyree Jackson, Jeff Driskel, Jacob Dolegala, Garrett Gilbert, David Blough, Joshua Dobbs, Devlin Hodges, Phillip Walker, Chad Kelly, Alex McGough, Tanner Lee, Logan Woodside, Kevin Hogan, Brett Rypien, Chase Litton, Kyle Shurmur, Cardale Jones, Nathan Peterman, Alex Tanney, Kyle Lauletta, Eric Dungey, Cody Kessler, Clayton Thorson, Josh Woodrum, Jake Browning, David Fales, Tim Boyle, Manny Wilkins, Kyle Sloter, Kyle Allen, Kurt Benkert, JT Barrett, Nick Fitzgerald, Ryan Griffin, John Wolford, Brandon Allen, Geno Smith, Paxton Lynch, Wilson Speight, Chad Kanoff, Drew Anderson

It's tempting to put every single 3rd string QB on this list. Some teams will carry 3 quarterbacks based on value and draft status. Like Taysom Hill in New Orleans, or Gardner Minshew in Jacksonville. A good number of these QB's will not make their respective teams, barring injuries. Most of these players are not household names, but that doesn't mean that there are not talented signal callers, from this lot.

The players of "name value" at the position are Garrett Gilbert, Joshua Dobbs, Chad Kelly, Kevin Hogan, Cardale Jones, JT Barrett, Geno Smith, Paxton Lynch, John Wolford and Nathan Peterman. The latter is more notorious for being so inefficient in his play in the pros, despite having a decent amount of publicity coming out of college. Very similar to Christian Hackenberg, in matching an exceedingly low level of ineptitude.

Some of these young quarterbacks still have PS eligibility. I would consider Tyree Jackson, an extreme longshot to choose the XFL over a spot on The Bills. He's currently slotted as #3 in the Bills pecking order. Some vets like Ryan Griffin, who has been a journeyman backup, will have to decide, whether or not they ever want to see playing time at the position. The same goes for Kevin Hogan and Cody Kessler. It's the young quarterbacks, undrafted and otherwise, who are intriguing. Both Davis Webb and Kyle Lauletta, were pre draft darlings heading into their NFL careers, both have since languished at the bottom of rosters. Some of the undrafted QB's like Wilson Speight, Brett Rypien, Jake Browning and Eric Dungey, have real potential. They just need a place to develop. Dungey might not be a quarterback in the NFL.

Chad Kelly brings name value to the table, because of his hall of fame Uncle Jim, and would make for an interesting story, if he played for June Jones, who coached Jim Kelly many moons ago with The Houston Gamblers.

Joshua Dobbs is intriguing. He's an extremely intelligent QB, who has played well when given the chance, but he's in a bit of a log jam in Pittsburgh. It's Ben's team, Mason Rudolph appears to be positioned to be Ben's backup, and undrafted rookie Devlin Hodges, is also a very talented young QB.

Cardale Jones, I believe is a direct target of the league. Great physical tools, was a 1 year wonder who took over the universe at Ohio State. Cardale has been a practice squad QB, and has an uphill battle, to ever see playing time in the pros. He is behind Rivers and Tyrod Taylor in LA, and the Chargers just drafted Easton Stick in the 5th round. Jones has only 11 career passes in the NFL. When and where is he ever going to play?

The AAF's top two quarterbacks, Garrett Gilbert and John Wolford, have a chance to stick. Gilbert could be Baker's backup in Cleveland, and it would not shock anyone if Wolford, were to beat out Blake Bortles as Goff's backup. He's also in a battle with practice squader Brandon Allen. Two other prominent AAF Quarterbacks, Brandon Silvers and Luis Perez were both released shortly after signing on with The Jets and Eagles respectively. They could resurface in a teams camp, but the numbers game is against them. Josh Woodrum in Washington has an uphill battle of making The Redskins roster. Logan Woodside could stick in Tennessee as a #3 QB, only because Mariota and Tannehill have not proven to be very durable.
User avatar
LeoNY
Head Coach
Posts: 1006
Joined: Sat May 25, 2019 8:20 pm

Re: Potential NFL Quarterbacks that The XFL will target after September cuts

Post by LeoNY »

Nice piece of writing and homework. There seems to be a delay between the September NFL cuts and the xfl draft in October. I wonder if the idea for this is to have a negotiating window for the xfl to try and convince players to sign on. It could take time for the XFL to sign players.
User avatar
johnnyangryfuzzball
Head Coach
Posts: 1855
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2019 8:22 pm

Re: Potential NFL Quarterbacks that The XFL will target after September cuts

Post by johnnyangryfuzzball »

Cardale Jones, I believe is a direct target of the league. Great physical tools, was a 1 year wonder who took over the universe at Ohio State. Cardale has been a practice squad QB, and has an uphill battle, to ever see playing time in the pros. He is behind Rivers and Tyrod Taylor in LA, and the Chargers just drafted Easton Stick in the 5th round. Jones has only 11 career passes in the NFL. When and where is he ever going to play?
I believe he was also a Doug Whaley draftee, so your assessment would probably be accurate that, if he becomes available, he's going to be pretty high on the XFL's list.
wetdawg
Linebacker
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu May 16, 2019 11:30 am

Re: Potential NFL Quarterbacks that The XFL will target after September cuts

Post by wetdawg »

What do you guys think about Luis Perez?
User avatar
LeoNY
Head Coach
Posts: 1006
Joined: Sat May 25, 2019 8:20 pm

Re: Potential NFL Quarterbacks that The XFL will target after September cuts

Post by LeoNY »

wetdawg wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2019 12:34 pm What do you guys think about Luis Perez?
I like him. I think that he could be a Tier-One player along with Brandon Silvers, Ryan Mallet, Johnny Manziel and Landry Jones.
Tank55
MVP
Posts: 2804
Joined: Tue Mar 05, 2019 3:57 pm

Re: Potential NFL Quarterbacks that The XFL will target after September cuts

Post by Tank55 »

I'd be a little disappointed if he were my team's Tier 1 QB, to be honest. Totally qualified as a member of the general player pool.
2020 East Division Champions
2021 February Monthly T-Shirt Giveaway Champion
User avatar
LeoNY
Head Coach
Posts: 1006
Joined: Sat May 25, 2019 8:20 pm

Re: Potential NFL Quarterbacks that The XFL will target after September cuts

Post by LeoNY »

Tank55 wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2019 2:28 pm I'd be a little disappointed if he were my team's Tier 1 QB, to be honest. Totally qualified as a member of the general player pool.
Perez is not as accomplished as the other names on the list but he could be a part of the eight. It all depends on what the team executives think of him.
User avatar
MikeMitchell
UFLBoard Correspondent
Posts: 2133
Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2018 5:28 pm

Re: Potential NFL Quarterbacks that The XFL will target after September cuts

Post by MikeMitchell »

wetdawg wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2019 12:34 pm What do you guys think about Luis Perez?
Mixed feelings but what I think doesn’t matter. It’s what XFL coaches, personnel evaluators and the football department thinks of Perez.

Personally, I get the interest. He was a very good QB coming out of college at Texas A &M Commerce. He was awarded the Harlon Hill Trophy in 2017 as the best football player in NCAA Division II and led the Lions to their second National Championship.

Perez is a California kid. So I can see him getting a shot with LA. What matters is what coaches like Norm Chow and execs like Joey Clinkscales think of him.

Perez is a very inconsistent player. Perhaps that has something to do with him only being 24 years old, and having a limited body of work. He was very up and down in the AAF.
XFLInSTL
Running Back
Posts: 114
Joined: Thu May 16, 2019 3:17 pm

Re: Potential NFL Quarterbacks that The XFL will target after September cuts

Post by XFLInSTL »

LeoNY wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2019 2:05 pm
wetdawg wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2019 12:34 pm What do you guys think about Luis Perez?
I like him. I think that he could be a Tier-One player along with Brandon Silvers, Ryan Mallet, Johnny Manziel and Landry Jones.
I watched a lot of AAF games and I disagree. He had five TD passes in eight games. A whole lot of passing yards though. And his receivers weren't awful, although Quinton Patton was inconsistent. He'd be a solid backup though
St. Louis Battlehawks
Tank55
MVP
Posts: 2804
Joined: Tue Mar 05, 2019 3:57 pm

Re: Potential NFL Quarterbacks that The XFL will target after September cuts

Post by Tank55 »

He had a nice Week 1, if my memory isn't failing me, but he was a middling AAF quarterback overall. That should not translate to being an XFL Tier 1.

https://www.footballdb.com/stats/stats. ... e=P&lg=AAF
2020 East Division Champions
2021 February Monthly T-Shirt Giveaway Champion
Post Reply