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The former New York Guardians have moved to Orlando for the 2023 XFL season. Here is a look at the most notable players on the new team’s roster as they are set to kick off the year.
QB Deondre Francois is an Orlando native and is competing with QB Paxton Lynch for starting duties. The former Florida State signal caller led the Seminoles to an Orange Bowl win over Michigan in 2016 but was dismissed by the team in 2019 after a video surfaced that appeared to show Francois making threats and admitting to physical and mental abuse of his girlfriend. He got a second chance at Hampton and threw for a school-record 26 touchdowns. Lynch was drafted 26th overall in the 2016 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos and is one of four current XFL quarterbacks to have thrown an NFL pass.
The team’s most notable pass-catching weapons are WR Cody Latimer and WR Charleston Rambo. Latimer starred at Indiana before catching on with the Broncos and New York Giants. He and Lynch played together in Denver in 2016 and 2017. Rambo was a solid weapon for Oklahoma before he transferred to Miami (FL) for his breakout 2021 season in which he caught 79 passes for 1,172 yards and seven touchdowns.
In one of the cooler stories of the XFL preseason, North Charleston, South Carolina police officer Trevon Sanders, who totaled 16.5 career tackles for loss at Troy, made Orlando’s final roster. He will play on the defensive line for the Guardians and resume his work as a police officer after the season.
Orlando Guardians roster (XFL 2023)
| Position | First Name | Last Name | Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | First Name | Last Name | Number |
| K | Jose | Borregales | 0 |
| DB | C.J. | Holmes | 1 |
| CB | Javaris | Davis | 2 |
| QB | Deondre | Francois | 3 |
| WR | Stephen | Guidry | 5 |
| QB | Paxton | Lynch | 6 |
| LB | Terrance | Smith | 8 |
| NT | Gerald | Willis | 9 |
| WR | Deddrick | Thomas | 10 |
| TE | Cody | Latimer | 11 |
| QB | Quinten | Dormady | 12 |
| S | Mike | Lee | 13 |
| WR | Charleston | Rambo | 14 |
| WR | JaVonta | Payton | 15 |
| WR | Dontez | Byrd | 16 |
| WR | Eli | Rogers | 17 |
| WR | Andrew | Jamiel | 18 |
| P | Townsend | Johnny | 19 |
| DB | Baylen | Buchanan | 20 |
| CB | Shaq | Wiggins | 21 |
| S | Matt | Elam | 22 |
| S | Najeem | Hosein | 23 |
| CB | Roman | Tatum | 24 |
| RB | Devin | Darrington | 26 |
| RB | Jah-Maine | Martin | 30 |
| LB | Lakia | Henry | 31 |
| CB | Justin | Rogers | 32 |
| DE | Nick | Coe | 34 |
| DE | Jacoby | Jones | 36 |
| CB | Marcus | Murphy Jr. | 38 |
| LB | Erroll | Thompson | 40 |
| LB | Jeremiah | Gemmel | 41 |
| DL | Josh | Harvey-Clemons | 43 |
| LB | Terrance | Plummer | 44 |
| LB | Tegray | Scales | 46 |
| DE | Ja'Quain | Blakely | 48 |
| DE | Olenga | Emmanuel | 49 |
| OL | David | Moore | 51 |
| DE | Stansly | Maponga | 56 |
| CB | Jalen | Spady | 58 |
| G | Ze’Veyon | Furcron | 59 |
| G | Fred | Lauina | 64 |
| G | Jordan | Ighofose | 65 |
| OT | Sunday | Deng | 70 |
| OT | Ja’Chai | Baker | 75 |
| OL | Abdul | Beecham | 77 |
| TE/LS | Ryan | Becker | 80 |
| TE | Logan | Carter | 87 |
| DE | Caeveon | Patton | 88 |
| NT | Khristian | Tate | 94 |
| DT | Trevon | Sanders | 99 |