Ex-Rams WR hopefuls have big impact on first day of XFL season

Austin Proehl and Nelson Spruce had huge performances in their XFL debuts.

The Los Angeles Rams are in full-on offseason mode right now, preparing for the upcoming draft, free agency and eventually, spring workouts. Although they weren’t in action on Saturday, a few ex-Rams hopefuls were.

The XFL kicked off its 2020 season this weekend and in the first two games, a pair of wide receivers with ties to the Rams were having a big impact. Austin Proehl of the Seattle Dragons and Nelson Spruce, who’s back in L.A. with the Wildcats, both had impressive performances in their XFL debuts.

In the Dragons-Defenders game, Proehl scored the first touchdown of the XFL season, catching a pass from Brandon Silvers to put Seattle up 6-3.

If you recognize the name Proehl, it’s because Austin is the son of Ricky Proehl, who caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the 1999 NFC Championship Game to send the Rams to the Super Bowl.

After his touchdown catch, Austin Proehl said the play was one his dad ran with the Rams during his time in St. Louis.

“We practiced it. Shout out to my pops. He’s been running it since the Greatest Show on Turf back in the day,” Proehl said on the sideline. “We just wanted to put it in. It’s a great red-zone play and we put it in and we executed it as a team.”

Proehl finished the game with a team-high five receptions for 88 yards and two touchdowns, leading all receivers in yardage. Seattle lost 31-19, however.

Proehl was a member of the Rams practice squad in 2018 and was on their offseason roster in 2019, but was cut in August before the season began.

As for the other former Rams wideout, Spruce’s numbers were the best of the day. He caught 11 passes for 103 yards, being targeted 15 times by Chad Kanoff. The rest of the Wildcats had 11 catches for 111 yards combined, so Spruce was Kanoff’s go-to target.

Spruce is the league’s first 100-yard receiver, leaving his mark in his first game back in Los Angeles.

This one-handed grab over the middle made the highlight reel, too, coming after a deflection.

Spruce signed with the Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2016 and was a preseason favorite among fans that year. He was cut in 2017, however, and bounced around with three other NFL teams afterwards.

The Wildcats fell to the Roughnecks 37-17 on Saturday, the second game of the day. XFL action continues on Sunday with the Vipers-Guardians game, followed by the Battlehawks and Renegades.