The Cleveland Browns will feature a host of ex-players and coaches in the XFL this season but who are the most must-see former members?
The Cleveland Browns are watching the offseason begin to unfold around them, and the team now has not one, but two new opportunities to scout talents. Beyond the free agent market, the scout teams, and the NFL Draft, the Browns can now see talent in the USFL, starting in April, and the XFL, currently in the first week of its season.
The XFL will feature a host of players that we’ll be sure to point out and pay attention to as they start putting plays on tape but until that day comes, we thought it’d be fun to look at ex-Browns players and coaches in the league and what we’re hoping from them this season. We’ve located the five most important players and coaches and we got them down below but first, let’s look at the rest of the players that used to call Cleveland their team.
The Rest
The BattleHawks
- CB Lavert Hill, St. Louis BattleHawks
- S Nate Meadors, St. Louis BattleHawks
- LB Silas Kelly, St. Louis BattleHawks
- LB Willie Harvey, St. Louis BattleHawks
The Brahmas
- OL Willie Wright, San Antonio Brahmas
The Defenders
- K Matt McCrane, DC Defenders
The Guardians
- OL David Moore, Orlando Guardians
The Renegades
- WR Rannell Hall, Arlington Renegades
The Roughnecks
- WR Davion Davis, Houston Roughnecks
- WR Travell Harris, Houston Roughnecks
The Sea Dragons
- WR Blake Jackson, Seattle Sea Dragons
The XFL has seen some changes to where the teams will play, with the Renegades going from Dallas to Arlington, the Guardians going from New York to Orlando, and the Vipers going from Tampa Bay to Las Vegas.
Furthermore, the Los Angeles club was folded entirely, ending the Wildcats for good, and instead, the San Antonio Brahmas were created.
Tied-5 DT Gabe Wright, DC Defenders, DT Glen Logan, Houston Roughnecks
Week one of the XFL proved to be very fun and exciting, but then again, you’d have to actively try to make football not fun and exciting. The rules of the XFL may be the best in football and really emphasizes special teams and a dynamic extra-point setup. The game is fun and that is really the key reason to watch. To enjoy yourself.
The other reason, however, is of course scouting. The Browns are in need of some inexpensive upgrades, and the XFL may just provide that. The hope of the XFL and USFL is to do some sort of business with the NFL, and that means that players that roll into the XFL and USFL will either be on one-year contracts or will have deals that’ll allow them to head to another league if the offer is better.
So fans should be keeping on an eye on ex-Browns defensive tackles Gabe Wright and Glen Logan. Wright played for the Browns in 2016 and saw limited time, and didn’t make much noise. Logan, on the other hand, was just with the club in 2022 as a highly vaunted undrafted free agent, but he was waived in late August. Logan has a chance to really show that he’s someone to keep an eye out for, and with the offensive lines needing time to meld, Logan may make a big impact early and often.
3. DC Gregg Williams, DC Defenders
I liked Gregg Williams when he was the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, the New Orlean Saints defensive coordinator, and when he was the Browns DC and interim head coach. He’s got a way to motivate the players and getting the most out of them, plus he’s not opposed to blitzing. Which is nice.
He’s been around the league so many times that it was almost predictable that he’d end up in the XFL this season. As of right now, he’s the frontman for the Defenders’ defense out of DC and will employ his usual stable brand of defensive schemes. Like the deep safety.
Luckily for Williams, his DC squad may have the best quarterback in the league as Jordan Ta’amu is on his club this season. Ta’amu rose to quiet stardom during the XFL’s 2020 season when he was the leader of the ever-exciting St. Louis BattleHawks club. Now in DC, he gives the Defenders their best bet at a championship this season, simply due to his skill set. He was 3-2 with the BattleHawks in 2020, before the league suspended and debuted with the USFL Tampa Bay Bandits and went 4-6.
With Williams’ defense behind Ta’amu, this squad could very easily become the second XFL Champions in the league’s history.
2. OC Bruce Gradkowski, St. Louis BattleHawks
Former Cleveland Browns and Toledo Rockets quarterback, Bruce Gradkowski is not suiting up for the St. Louis BattleHawks this season but instead taking the reigns as their offensive coordinator. Gradkowski was an NFL player for about a decade, as he had stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, Oakland Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He was arguably the last of the great MAC-era quarterbacks that featured Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich, Josh Cribbs, Omar Jacobs, and of course, most unfortunately, Ben Roethlisberger. The MAC hasn’t seen that much talent at quarterback since Gradkowski capped off their run.
After the NFL he started coaching high school football, first with Anthony Wayne High School as their Volunteer assistant quarterbacks coach, and then at St Francis de Sales school in Toledo, Ohio.
Now he’s the offensive coordinator with the BattleHawks and has A.J. McCarron as their quarterback, a man that many Browns fans will know all too well. Now in St. Louis, the duo had one of the best opening weekends of the league, coming back from a hole of 15-3 in the final three minutes, to win 18-15 in the waning moments’ thanks to McCarron. He went 11-13 in the fourth quarter alone and tagged Hakeem Butler for a touchdown, and then hit Austin Phroel for the three-point conversation, and an eventual touchdown to win the game.
If this was Gradkowski’s debut, I can’t wait to see what he has in store throughout the season.
1. WR Josh Gordon, Seattle Sea Dragons
Josh Gordon is hoping to prove to the world that he still has something left in the tank as he suits up for the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL. The biggest name in the league, the former Pro Bowler, All-Pro, and Super Bowl champion is hoping to use the XFL as a launch back to the NFL after failing to catch on in Cleveland, New England, Seattle, Kansas City, or Tennessee.
It’s ironic that Gordon is back in Seattle, trying to revive his career, as that’s where he went after New England with the thought that if anyone could get him back on track it’d be Pete Carroll. Now he’s playing with Ben DiNucci and for Sea Dragons’ head coach Jim Haslett.
Haslett is no Carroll, but he’s a very good coach in his way own way. While the game is ongoing as of press time, Gordon has already made an impact on the game, catching a DiNucci flip in the endzone for the first touchdown of the game.
Gordon, now 31 years old, is on his last legs as a playmaker and if he does well in the XFL could get another shot in the NFL but he may be better off doing the best he can in Seattle and helping the brand grow.