The Saints should be keeping a close eye on Cardale Jones, the face of the XFL

It’s been a while since Cardale Jones won a national title at Ohio State, but the XFL star should draw attention from the New Orleans Saints

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Who’s going to quarterback the New Orleans Saints in 2020? The easy answer would be Drew Brees, assuming he returns for one more year before entering retirement. That’s far from certain with TV networks trying to add him to the broadcast booth. And who’s going to be under center in 2021? Teddy Bridgewater or Taysom Hill, maybe? The future of the most important position in football has never been less certain for New Orleans than right now, but an interesting option could be making a name for himself in the upstart XFL.

D.C. Defenders quarterback Cardale Jones is the biggest name the spring football league has to offer, and he’s lived up to that billing with a 2-0 record and an impressive resume through the first two weeks. Jones has completed 39 of 63 passes (62%) for 511 yards and four touchdowns against just one interception, tacking on 42 rushing yards. His ability to execute plays within structure of the offense while also improvising once things fall apart has to be an intriguing draw for NFL teams, including the Saints.

He’s someone the Saints should be familiar with, having practiced against Jones for a week during the 2019 preseason in joint sessions with the Los Angeles Chargers. They presumably got a good look at him when evaluating his top receiver (Michael Thomas) and the quarterback who somehow started ahead of him (J.T. Barrett) on the Ohio State Buckeyes way back when, during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. But whatever the NFL overlooked in Jones’ college game has clearly translated to the XFL: he’s 13-0 as a starting quarterback between his college, NFL, and XFL experience, leading teams to a 25-1 overall record whenever he steps on the field. That’s what you call a gamer.

But how does Jones compare to Bridgewater and Hill, the heirs-apparent to Brees? He’s 27, a few months younger than Bridgewater, while Hill is several years their senior. Jones is a much better-developed passer than Hill, though he probably doesn’t offer the same running ability or aptitude on special teams. If the Saints aren’t able to retain Bridgewater once he tests free agency, Jones would make more sense as a backup or understudy to Brees than many other journeymen quarterbacks. He won’t be going anywhere until the XFL’s first season concludes, but it’s easy to imagine the Saints giving him a shot in training camp. They’ve added just about every other ex-Buckeyes prospect possible in recent years.

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