7 former Patriots participating in first round of XFL’s Summer Showcase

As was announced last year, the XFL will return in 2020. Whether or not the league will avoid a similar fate as its short-lived 2001 incarnation or the now-defunct Alliance of American Football remains to be seen, but interest in the product seems considerable — at least when measured on the number of players participating in the league’s so-called ‘Summer Showcase’.

So far, two of those tryouts have taken place (in Dallas and Houston); among the men working out also were multiple former members of the New England Patriots:

WR Demarcus Ayers

CB Brandon Dixon

DE Kony Ealy

CB Sterling Moore

DT Khyri Thornton

OT Toby Weathersby

RB Trey Williams

The biggest among the seven names previously listed on the Patriots’ pay roll are undoubtably Kony Ealy and Sterling Moore. While Ealy was a prominent trade acquisition during the 2017 offseason but ultimately failed to make the team’s roster, Moore spent the 2011 and 2012 seasons in New England. During that time, the cornerback appeared in a combined seventeen regular season and playoff games for the Patriots.

While the former undrafted rookie free was used primarily as a rotational option in the defensive backfield and on special teams, he did make one of the biggest plays of New England’s 2011 postseason run: late in the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens, Moore was able to prevent a touchdown when he knocked the ball out of the hands of wide receiver Lee Evans. Two plays later, Baltimore missed a game-tying field goal attempt and the Patriots advanced to the Super Bowl.

Now, Moore, Ealy and the other five men listed above will try to continue their careers outside of the NFL.

The remaining XFL showcase events will take place later this month and in early July:

• New York: June 14 (Sprague Field Carlisle Rd)
• Washington DC: June 15 (The St. James Complex)
• Los Angeles: June 21 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
• Seattle: June 22 (Memorial Stadium)
• Tampa Bay: June 29 (Raymond James Stadium)
• St. Louis: July 13 (Lou Fusz Training Facility)