“It’s nice to have 28, 29 guys back from this past season that know what the expectation is…”
Throughout the course of 2023, 68 players who ended the spring on XFL rosters were signed by NFL teams. Of those 68, 19 are still on NFL rosters as of press time. That left 49 players with a decision to make: Return to spring football with the UFL; take an alternate route to continue the climb to pro football’s highest level; or hang up the cleats altogether.
Somewhat surprisingly, 84% of those remaining 49 are currently in UFL training camps. That percentage increases when you take out two players who retired in Liam Ryan and Josh Hammond. It speaks volumes about the value of a league like the UFL, and it also helps teams increase their continuity from last season to this season.
USFL teams have already experienced this phenomenon: Some players are in their third year on a team and in a coach’s offensive or defensive system. But this will be the first opportunity for these XFL teams to carry players over from one year to the next (though some of those players returning will be on different teams in 2024). In fact, it’s the first time in XFL history teams will have this level of continuity into a second year, even if it’s under a different league banner.
Take St. Louis for example. They led the XFL with 16 players signed into the NFL last season. Three remain in that league; 10 others are wearing Battlehawk blue once again. In total, they have nearly 30 players from 2023 on the current roster.
Battlehawks Head Coach Anthony Becht was asked Wednesday about the team’s culture that has developed, and he pointed to returning players as leaders to show the new members of the team how things should be done. “There’s a standard and a culture that we have here,” he said. “It’s nice to have 28, 29 guys back from this past season that know what the expectation is… I’ve really been pushing for them to police the team a little bit.”
That continuity can help off the field with establishing a standard and a culture, but it also helps when it comes to the actual football that’s played. I asked Becht how advantageous it is from an on-field perspective to have players this season who’ve been in the team’s system for a year (both of his coordinators return from 2023).
“It’s good because things look a lot smoother, guys know where to go,” he explained. “You have 47 new players in camp, those guys can learn from those players that were out there.”
Last year, the Battlehawks missed the playoffs despite a 7-3 record. Those hard feelings remain from the returning players, and Becht hopes to turn that frustration into positive momentum. “I think the one thing that’s kind of the even sentiment across the board between all the players that are back is that they all have a chip on their shoulder,” he said. “They’re all hungry to go out there and capture some of the taste of the playoffs and potentially get to the championship.”
Whether in off-the-field routines, understanding and executing the playbook, or in emotions built up from the previous year, XFL teams will get their first chance at demonstrating continuity this season. Having so many players choose to come back will help the quality of play, as well as the relationships the players can build, even from afar, in the cities and with fans.
