The XFL is moving toward its comeback and is taking the next step to build out the league for the 2020 relaunch. The XFL will be sending out its first round of player invites shortly. It’s obvious the invites can’t go out all at once since the league will definitely want its pick of players when the NFL goes from a 90-man roster to a 53-man squad.
Funny thing is we have some suggestions on who should receive that first round of invites. Some of these suggestions are serious and some will be jokes, but the XFL should throw some odd invites out there. At the worst, it would get some press coverage.
Johnny Manziel
Manziel is the most obvious choice for the XFL. He still has a recognizable name and brand. He still has fans who watched him play through a wretched stretch in the CFL. He would be a draw in Dallas or Houston. If Manziel isn’t sent an invite it would be shocking. The only way he doesn’t end up playing for the league is if he turns it down and completely steps away from football.
Tim Tebow
Here’s another obvious choice. The problem for the XFL is that Tim Tebow’s slash line in AAA Syracuse is .163/.240/.255. Actually, nevermind that helps the XFL. The real problem is that Tebow doesn’t need the XFL. He’s got a job when he’s not being bad at baseball. Tebow is one of the main draws of ESPN’s college football coverage. He just signed a multi-year extension with ESPN two years ago. It doesn’t hurt to ask, though.
Brett Favre
If the three choices listed came back and played football it would be some type of ESPN News best-case scenario. Favre does have a habit of making comebacks and he probably thinks he could still sling it. Favre would be a huge draw. The XFL would have a former NFL MVP coming back for one more moment in the spotlight. The former Packer-great is not coming back . . . we think.
Dez Bryant
Bryant can probably still post up a corner and be a real red-zone target. It looks like his time in the NFL may be over. It’s tough to come back after this much time. The good news for Bryant and the XFL is that Dallas will have a team. Bryant can use his former Cowboys’ stardom for one payday. Bryant tore his Achilles in November of 2018. He should be healthy by March of 2020.
Trent Richardson
Trent Richardson should be on the invite list. Richardson wants to play football. He made that obvious during his time in the AAF. He still has some currency when it comes to getting news coverage. Some of the comments are made in jest, but people are still talking about him. If a team wants to run a three yards and a cloud of dust offense, Richardson would fit perfectly.
Colin Kaepernick
It is extremely unlikely that Colin Kaepernick ends up in the XFL, but that doesn’t mean they should ignore the former Niners quarterback. There were rumors in February that Kaepernick and the league were speaking, but nothing substantial ever happened.
Kaepernick would be a dream scenario for the XFL. He’s the face of a movement. He would bring a ton of press and ratings. He’s good enough to play in the NFL. This probably isn’t going to happen for more than a few reasons, but Kaepernick would instantly be the best player in the XFL and its biggest star.
Jerry Rice
Jerry Rice is secretly the receiver version of Brett Favre. He played much longer than anyone thought and bounced around the league. He definitely thinks he still has it in him to catch some passes in a game. He jokingly said he could come back. There’s probably some truth to that joke. No one should ever doubt Jerry Rice.
College Player X
Maybe there’s a player who has to sit out because of transfer rules and he wants to get paid. There could be a quarterback who knows they are losing their job and might be interested in building their value for the NFL. There has to be some option that would work for the XFL.
The XFL may want to wait on these invites because the college football landscape will be more clear in a few months. A move like this would make a huge splash. Even if the player wasn’t a recognizable college star, the league would create a conversation around amateurism and the XFL being an option for college players who can’t enter the draft because of the age limit.
