Former Philadelphia Eagles take their talents to Flag Football
Many former NFL football players are continuing to play football for other teams in another league. A lot of them happened to play for the Philadelphia Eagles.
A lot of buzz has surrounded other professional football leagues over the last few years. There’s the Arena Football League for those who like indoor sports. The Legends Football League for the ladies, and soon the XFL will kickstart once again. But a newer league has gained a bit of attention since last year as the American Flag Football League League officially kicked off this season recently.
While we are all starved for full-padded football, the American Flag Football league may keep us busy with entertainment. Especially since there are quite a few former Philadelphia Eagles showing face in this year’s bracket. They may not be in midnight green still, but there are a couple of Philly fan favorites that are balling out on their new teams.
Who’s still playing?
Former Eagles receiver Jason Avant returned to the city a couple of months back to compete in something other than football. The 35-year-old athlete decided that the best way to remain in shape outside of football is doing parkour. So after months of training, Avant kicked off Philly’s episode of American Ninja Warrior. Unfortunately, he didn’t get through to the end. The irony of his loss was that his hands failed him while climbing an obstacle.
Speaking of wide receivers, do you remember Steve Smith? Not the future Hall of Famer, but the guy who spent a one season in Philly after showing some promise on the New York Giants. Well, that guy also joins the list of former Eagles that are turning in the helmets and pads for some flags. Maybe this time around Smith will exceed 200-yards in a season, though.
Most recently, former Eagles cornerback Brandon Boykin made it known that he was joining the league. Boykin quickly became a fan favorite in Philadelphia after he was drafted in 2012. For some reason though, he never got a real chance to reach his peak in Philadelphia.
Boykin ended up being the first of many fan favorites who were purged from the Eagles roster, courtesy of Chip Kelly. Since he was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Boykin’s career took a nosedive. Now, the 27-year-old looks to pick things back up outside of the NFL.
The biggest name of them all:
At some point last year, you have probably heard about the legendary Mike Vick joining the league. Vick was the captain and quarterback of one of the two trial teams in an exhibition matchup last year. Clearly, Vick enjoyed his time back on the gridiron as he is the captain of the Roadrunners team.
The American Flag Football League quietly kicked things off this past week as it didn’t get as much attention as it should have. For those who don’t know, the league issues a challenge to amateur football players. The league is split into two divisions. One division features former NFL players along with other pro athletes who are referred to as “crossovers.” The other division features amateur players who are working to take down the pros.
The winning team will take home a cool one-million dollars with a championship win. To some of the pro’s this could be chump-change, but to others that could be a nice payday bonus along with some impressive bragging rights.
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You can check out the brackets online and maybe if you’re local you can catch a game. Hopefully, in the future, the league could fill some seat at the Linc. After all, many Eagles fans would probably show up to cheer for Vick, Boykin, and Avant once again.