The XFL has its first quarterback, announcing Thursday it has signed former Steelers backup Landry Jones.
The 30-year-old is the first of eight "leading quarterbacks" the startup league says it will sign in the coming months. A release Thursday says those QBs will be in the fold ahead of the XFL's inaugural draft in October and each team's coach will select a quarterback prior to the draft.
#BREAKING: @LandryJones12 has signed with the #XFL
— XFL (@xfl2020) August 15, 2019
DETAILS ➡️ https://t.co/Qlw0qQO6cq pic.twitter.com/K6d6yRPQNk
“We’re excited to welcome Landry to the XFL as our first player and first quarterback,” XFL Commissioner and CEO Oliver Luck said in a release. “He’s an accomplished athlete with outstanding college credentials and pro experience, and his heart and desire to play football epitomizes the type of individual we want in the XFL.”
Jones played four years at Oklahoma before being selected by Pittsburgh in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He didn't see his first NFL game action until 2015, after both Ben Roethlisberger and Michael Vick got hurt. In all, Jones appeared in 18 games over three seasons, including one playoff appearance, before the Steelers released him in favor of Mason Rudolph ahead of the 2018 season opener.
Jones had brief stints with the Jaguars last fall and Raiders this spring but has been a free agent since being cut by Oakland in May. Now he'll get another chance in the new league, which will begin play next spring.
“I’m looking forward to joining the XFL and playing the game I love,” Jones said in a release. “I can’t wait to suit up.”
