Former Vikings draft pick participates in XFL showcase
By Adam Patrick
Cornerback Kendall James, a sixth-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in the 2014 NFL Draft, recently took part in an XFL skills showcase.
Making the cut for the Minnesota Vikings or for any team in the NFL is an extremely hard task to accomplish. Even some of the most gifted athletes in the world struggle to keep a spot on an NFL roster.
Recently, however, some other professional football leagues have been formed with the goal to give guys another opportunity to play the game for a living and also give football fans an alternative to the NFL.
In 2018, the formation of the Alliance of American Football and the rebirth of the XFL were announced. Since then, the AAF has already folded after the league failed to even finish their inaugural season due to a multitude of financial issues.
The XFL, however, is set to re-launch sometime in 2020. Currently, the league is holding a number of Summer Showcases around the United States for potential players to participate in drills and various athletic tests.
On Friday, the XFL held one of these Showcases in Montclair, New Jersey and a good amount of former NFL players were among those taking part in the events. Of those participating, one was actually a former Vikings draft selection.
Cornerback Kendall James, who was picked by Minnesota in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft, was a part of the group that took part in the Showcase in New Jersey on Friday.
Drafted out of Maine, James never ended up playing a down of meaningful football for the Vikings. He didn’t make Minnesota’s final 53-man roster in 2014 and he only lasted for a day on the team’s practice squad.
After being let go by the Vikings, James spent a cup of coffee with five other teams around the NFL from 2014 to 2016. But he still has yet to appear in a regular season game.
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James is just 27-years-old, so he clearly figures he still has some good football left in him. Perhaps he’ll be back in the NFL one day. But first, he has to see if he can even make it in the XFL.