Getty Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Kurt Benkert is heading to the XFL.
The Green Bay Packers have had some beloved backup quarterbacks during the Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers eras, and one of them has found a new team after signing with the XFL.
Former Packers backups have gone on to have successful careers, just not always as players. Graham Harrell served as Green Bay’s backup from 2010 to 2012, and is now the offensive coordinator for the West Virginia Mountaineers. A few backups are still playing, including Brett Hundley, who recently signed with the Baltimore Ravens.
Another backup found another playing opportunity, with Kurt Benkert being asisgned to with the XFL’s Houston Roughnecks. The team made the announcement via Twitter on Monday, December 12.
However, Benkert announced later that day that he would not be pursuing the opportunity with the XFL. He shared an announcement explaining why he was turning down the job via Twitter.
“For many different reasons, and to the fault of no one in particular, this opportunity no longer feels like the right one to pursue,” Benkert said in his statement. “I am choosing to spend this offseason with my wife and daughter back home to experience some normalcy for the first time in a while.”
What Culd Kurt Benkert Have Brought to the XFL?
It’s been a while since he’s seen meaningful playing time, but Benkert was a respectable starting quarterback back in his college days.
Benkert was a 3-star recruit coming out of high school in Cape Coral, Florida. His offers including some respectable programs including Central Florida and Marshall, but current USC head coach Lincoln Riley lured him to the East Carolina Pirates in 2013.
After sitting for a couple of years, Benkert was supposed to be East Carolina’s starting quarterback in 2015, but a major knee injury caused him to miss the whole season. It wasn’t until 2016 when Benkert was able to prove himself with a new school in the Virginia Cavaliers.
The young quarterback played two seasons for the Cavaliers, setting multiple single-season school records in 2017. In those two seasons, he threw for 5,759 yards, 46 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions. Those two years of solid college production helped Benkert find a job with the Atlanta Falcons after going undrafted in 2018.
Since then, Benkert has hopped around the NFL as a backup with the Falcons, Packers, and 49ers. He saw his first career game time with Green Bay, taking the kneel downs against the Chicago Bears in 2021. The backup QB was so excited that he took to Twitter to celebrate the moment.
He hasn’t been a household name at the NFL level, but now Benkert will be looking to spend some time with his family.
Will Jordan Love Stay in Green Bay?
Speaking of Packers backups, former first-round pick Jordan Love’s future is up in the air after the 2022 season.
With Aaron Rodgers uncertain about his future in 2023 and beyond, questions have emerged about Love’s future in Green Bay. The 24-year-old will be on the fourth year of his rookie deal in 2023, and the Packers will have to decide whether or not to pick up the fifth-year option before the start of the season.
To make things even more complicated, Love has reportedly considered requesting a trade if Rodgers doesn’t retire after this season. If that’s the case, then the Packers will have to find another successor to Rodgers before he retires, or else they’ll be left with very limited options at the quarterback position.
Regardless of what his future holds, Love showed that he has starting-caliber potential against the Eagles, completing six of nine passes for 113 yards and a touchdown in Week 12.