NFL practice squad players are truly the embodiment of the “Player 54” mantra that XFL co-owner Dwayne Johnson often espouses – not quite good enough to make the 53-man active rosters, but still good enough for teams to keep around.
Those practice squad players are also the top level talent the XFL can acquire, more so than any other street free agents available to them. Therefore, when practice squad contracts expired one week after each NFL team’s season ended, the XFL was expectedly aggressive in recruiting those players.
When an NFL season concludes, teams can sign practice squad players to “futures contracts,” which keeps them on the roster through the offseason (though they can also be released at any time). Most, but not all, practice squad players are offered these deals by their teams: after all, if a team sees enough in them to keep them on the practice squad, why wouldn’t they want to bring them back the next year?
Those not signed to futures deals are the ones targeted by leagues like the XFL and USFL. To ensure their on-field product is at the highest level, they want players who can play at the highest level. As always, it’s a two-way street – players must have interest in the league, too.
The XFL had a tough sell this year – training camps began in early January, while practice squad contracts for non-playoff teams expired about a week later. Players would be jumping into camps late, even if they signed right away.
Nevertheless, the numbers show the XFL is ahead of the pace they set in 2020 in signing these players. In 2020, the XFL signed six players from this crop, while five players drafted by XFL teams who then signed with NFL practice squads, returned to the XFL when those practice squad contracts expired. Those players were:
DE Dewayne Hendrix (Jacksonville), claimed by the BattleHawks
RB James Butler (Oakland), claimed by the Roughnecks
WR De’Mornay Pierson-El (Oakland), by the BattleHawks, then added to their active roster
RB De’Angelo Henderson (Eagles), claimed by the Roughnecks
QB Chad Kanoff (Bucs), claimed by the Guardians
WR Saeed Blacknall (Cardinals), drafted by the Wildcats, then added to their active roster
QB Joe Callahan (Lions), drafted by the Dragons, then added to their active roster
LB Reshard Cliett (Vikings), drafted by the Renegades, then added to their active roster
G Kahlil McKenzie (Seahawks), claimed by Defenders then traded to Wildcats
TE Wes Saxton (Seahawks), drafted by BattleHawks, then added to their active roster
DT Greg Gilmore (Panthers), claimed by the Roughnecks
DT JoJo Wicker (Redskins), claimed by BattleHawks
This year, eight players have signed and six have returned to the XFL teams that drafted them. Those players are:
DT Kobe Smith (Atlanta), claimed by the Brahmas
QB Brett Hundley (New Orleans), claimed by the Vipers
WR Davion Davis (Houston), claimed by the Roughnecks
LB Tim Ward (Green Bay), claimed by the Roughnecks
G Kahlil McKenzie (Baltimore), claimed by the Vipers
OT Derrick Kelly (New Orleans), claimed by the Brahmas
OT Sage Doxtater (New Orleans), claimed by the Roughnecks
DE Trent Harris (Las Vegas), claimed by the Defenders
S Nate Meadors (Tennessee), drafted by the Battlehawks, now on their active roster
OT George Moore (Denver), drafted by the Renegades, now on their active roster
LB Ferrod Gardner (Washington), drafted by the Defenders, now on their active roster
QB Steven Montez (Detroit), assigned to the Sea Dragons, now on their active roster
C Michal Menet (Green Bay), drafted by the Sea Dragons, now on their active roster
DE Niko Lalos (New Orleans), drafted by the Sea Dragons, now on their active roster
That’s nearly 11% of practice squad players ending up in the XFL this year. The increase from 2020 is impressive when considering the league is now battling the USFL for these players, competition they did not have in 2020. The USFL has only signed a few that ended the season on NFL practice squads, most notably QB Davis Cheek. Given USFL training camps do not start for another month, they have time to add more players that were not signed to futures deal.
Mitigating the increase from 2020 is the fact that practice squad size has increased during that time. During the 2019 NFL season, the maximum number of players teams could have on their practice squad was 10. In 2022, that number was 16, meaning an additional 192 players league-wide. This expansion was initially put into place during the COVID-19 pandemic to allow last-minute replacements for those stricken by the virus, but has stuck since.
Even though the numbers have increased, it’s largely been to make room for veterans (defined for the purposes of practice squads as those who have more than two accrued seasons), of which teams can keep up to six. Those players are the least likely to be signed to futures deals, and the least likely to jump to an alternative league, so in some ways, this cancels out the increase as a negating factor for the rise in XFL acquisitions.
The XFL has shown the ability to attract players from multiple places – the USFL, indoor leagues, NFL practice squads, and of late, the CFL. It’s all in the name of providing a high level of football for viewers, which will be a key determinent in the success – or lack thereof – of the league.
