Mettenberger, other former Titans seek XFL opportunity

More than half a dozen players who spent time with Tennessee are in the start-up league's draft pool

Zach Mettenberger is ready to try again.

The quarterback is one of more than half a dozen players with ties to the Tennessee Titans in the pool for next week’s XFL draft. That group includes three draft picks and several who were in training camp this summer.

Mettenberger, a sixth-round pick by the Titans in 2014, has pursued seemingly every possible option to extend his professional career since he was last on an NFL roster. Earlier this year he was in the Alliance of American Football, the developmental circuit that folded before it completed its first season. Early in 2018 he was a participant in The Spring League, a four-team, two-week endeavor designed to help players re-start their careers.

Now he is one of 1,000 players available (the list was released over seven days this week) to the XFL’s eight teams next week’s draft (Tuesday and Wednesday).

The selection process will be broken into phases with teams selecting quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends in the first phase, offensive linemen in the second, defensive linemen and linebacker in the third and defensive backs in the fourth. A fifth will include kickers, punters and long snappers as well as any additional players from the first four phases.

Each team will select 71 players. The average salary will be $55,000.

Mettenberger went 0-10 as a starter with the Titans in 2014 and 2015, which was the last time he played in an NFL game. After Tennessee released him, he spent time with San Diego (now the Los Angeles Chargers) and Pittsburgh.

A look at other XFL prospects who spent time with the Titans:

• David Cobb, running back: A fifth-round pick by Tennessee in 2015, he had 52 rushes for 146 yards and a touchdown as a rookie but has not played in the NFL since. He was last with an NFL team in 2016 and has spent time in the Canadian Football League and the Alliance of American Football.

• James Folston, linebacker: The Titans added him to their 2019 training camp roster on Aug. 12 and waived him four days later.

• Akeem Hunt: He was added to the 2019 training camp roster on Aug. 10 but was released at the end of the preseason, during which he played in three games and rushed 13 times for 55 yards.

• Demontre Hurst, cornerback: He played 32 games for Chicago from 2014-16 and spent time with the Titans (but never appeared in a game) in 2017 and 2018.

• Tre McBride, wide receiver: The Titans’ seventh-round pick in 2015, he played 17 NFL games (nine for Tennessee, eight for Chicago) over three seasons. He often was a standout in preseason games but could not replicate that production in the regular season.

• Gimel President, linebacker: A waiver claim in 2018, an injury led to his release during that year’s training camp. He was brought back to the practice squad late in the year but failed to earn a roster spot for 2019.

• Yawin Smallwood, linebacker: A 2014 draft pick by Atlanta (seventh round), he failed to make it with the Falcons and spent time on the Titans’ practice squad that year. He never appeared in an NFL game.

• Cole Wick, tight end: He spent time with Detroit, San Francisco and Tennessee from 2016-18, including three weeks on the Titans’ active roster late last season, but never appeared in an NFL game.

• Ethan Wolf, tight end: The Titans released the undrafted free agent at the end of the 2018 preseason. This year he spent time with Carolina and Jacksonville, and early this week Green Bay signed him to its practice squad.

DeAngelo Yancey

The XFL reboot (the league played one highly publicized but financially futile season in 2001) ise set to begin a 10-week schedule on Feb. 8, 2020, six day after the Super Bowl. The league has television deals with ABC, ESPN, Fox and FS1.