Over five starts in the XFL, quarterback P.J. Walker was easily the best player to take the field in the now-canceled league. While leading the Houston Roughnecks to a 5-0 record, Walker racked up a league-leading 1,338 passing yards and 15 touchdowns to go along with 99 rushing yards.
His play was certainly good enough to warrant a look from NFL teams, and a number of them made the call, including the Panthers, Seahawks and Cardinals. Walker played for new Carolina coach Matt Rhule at Temple, and that seems to have weighed heavily in his decision making: yesterday he became the newest member of the Panthers.
Going to miss seeing this on the field for the @XFLRoughnecks.
The @Panthers got a winner in, @pjwalker_5 pic.twitter.com/lUSpdJcmUA
— XFL on FOX (@XFLonFOX) March 23, 2020
Though he’s penciled in as Teddy Bridgewater’s backup for now, Walker believes he has the goods to be a starter if given the opportunity.
“I think I could be a starter for sure,” he told The Athletic. “It just takes time and the patience and everything. God has to put you in the right situation, things have to fall in place. Right now I’m just going in there trying to compete for the No. 2 job behind Teddy and see what happens from there.”
The Panthers clearly have some confidence in Walker, as they traded quarterback Kyle Allen, who took over as the starter in Carolina last season after Cam Newton went down with an injury in Week 2, to the Washington Redskins.
In related news, the Kansas City Chiefs signed another former XFL quarterback, Jordan Ta’amu, to a contract. While playing for the St. Louis BattleHawks, Ta’amu completed 72 percent of his passes for 1,050 yards and six touchdowns.
Pulled two minutes of film on new #Chiefs quarterback Jordan Ta’amu. Dual-threat QB from XFL. Finished third in passing, seventh in rushing. Classic QB style that Reid likes and much closer to Patrick Mahomes’ manner than Chad Henne. You see that here. pic.twitter.com/bhBOWzroMt
— Pete Sweeney (@pgsween) March 24, 2020
Obviously with Patrick Mahomes in the fold in Kansas City, Ta’amu doesn’t have a shot at the starting job unless there’s an injury. But for a guy who was playing in the minor leagues as of a week ago, a backup role on the defending Super Bowl champions is probably about as good as it gets.
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