Somewhat breaking news, after a bit of back-and-forth between several of my contacts and prospective USFL players, it appears that Jim Popp the USFL Director of Player Administration is beginning to reach out to players and is making a short-list for USFL Teams.
With the USFL supplemental draft being completed on March 10 and seven of the eight teams having forty-five players on the roster, the USFL teams still have about three weeks to trim the rosters down to 38 active players and 7 on their practice squads, before opening kickoff on April 16th. So far throughout the first couple days of camp no injuries or transactions have been reported, but no matter what injuries are a part of the game and at every level continue to be something coaches have to adjust for.
Ironically the XFL’s Team 9 and the USFL have a mutual connection. Bart Andrus current coach of the Philadelphia Stars was the “Head Coach” of Team 9 in 2020. So, with the USFL adopting many rules and regulations from other leagues why not add in one more similarity.
“In every football league, there is constant churn. I’m sure every one of these rosters is going to change by the time Week 1 rolls around. They’ll bring in new guys or someone pulls a hamstring, it’s just inevitable.”-Oliver Luck former Commissioner of the XFL
As stated by the former XFL commissioner Oliver Luck talks the wear and tear of a football season is “constant churn” and even though the USFL do have their forty-five total players it’s only a matter of time before it’ll be time to bring in additional players. However, it does seem that Jim Popp is already being proactive in that process and starting his short list.
With kickoff less than thirty days away and a plethora of QBs available with spring league experience, is it out of the realm that the USFL have some recognizable names on stand-by? With guys like Luis Perez, Brandon Slivers, and Chase Litton still “free agents” it would definitely behoove the league to have capable players waiting to go.
