You won’t get much debate out of me if you want to label Houston Roughnecks quarterback PJ Walker the XFL’s MVP for the short-lived 2020 season. The dude threw for 1,338 yards and 15 touchdowns in just five games. His stellar dynamic play helmed the Roughnecks to the league’s best offense and a perfect 5-0 record.
Indeed, had the season continued, the Roughnecks would’ve been the favorites to win the XFL Championship, and that’s due in large part to Walker.
If there’s a silver lining to the XFL having to cancel its season, it’s that guys can get deals immediately to make the transition to the NFL. The biggest domino to fall in all of this is obviously the guy who was considered the frontrunner for MVP honors – Walker recently signed a two-year deal to go to the Carolina Panthers.
How badly did the #Panthers want QB P.J. Walker after he lit up the XFL? Source says they gave Walker a two-year, $1.565 million contract that includes a $150,000 signing bonus and a $25,000 workout bonus next year. Nice deal for a street free agent.
This really couldn’t have worked out much better for Walker. Matt Rhule and company have been busy since taking over for the Panthers. The big news yesterday was the release of once-NFL-MVP Cam Newton, but the Panthers also traded away Kyle Allen, and acquired Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater figures to be the starter heading into the 2020 campaign, with Walker and Will Grier now competing for reps at backup. Bridgewater will get his chance to be the franchise quarterback, but it’s not like Walker’s going into a quarterback room with an established guy who has absolutely no questions surrounding his capability at all.
There’s a chance that Walker earns a shot at some significant play in this situation. Grier has hardly inspired in what we’ve seen from him so far. And, there’s a level of familiarity here between Walker and Rhule. Rhule was the head coach at Temple when Walker attended school there. Together, they were 28-19 over the course of four seasons.
Rhule is a big time ‘process’ guy. It’s what led him to turning around both of the Temple and Baylor programs from 10-loss teams to 10-win teams. Baylor was incredibly close to a Big 12 Championship and maybe even a spot in the College Football Playoff in 2019. Whether or not that process translates to the NFL remains to be seen, but if you’re Walker, it’s an encouraging sign that the Panthers wanted him badly.
IF we’re going to see a successful ‘XFL to NFL’ story, there’s no reason to think it wouldn’t be Walker, who was playing at a high level when the season was ended, is going to a situation in Carolina where he might have a legitimate opportunity to play, and will be reuniting with a coach who is all too familiar with his skill set.
I don’t see any reason to call this anything other than a huge win for PJ Walker.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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