Kenny Robinson is one of the XFL’s greatest stories from their 2020 season. The NFL prospect elected to join the XFL, instead of playing in college for one more year.
This decision was made because his mother was fighting cancer at the time, and he wanted to help support the family. Kenny went on to have an impressive XFL career with the St. Louis BattleHawks, despite the shortened season, and caught the eye of some NFL organizations.
Robinson was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in 2020, and is the first XFL player to ever be drafted. Since then, he was on and off the team for some time, but has been on the Panthers practice squad for the 2021 season. That changed this past week.
#Panthers have placed punter Joe Charlton on injured reserve with a back injury. He’ll miss at least the next three games.
Carolina signed Ryan Winslow to the practice squad to presumably punt this week.
(S Kenny Robinson was signed to replace Charlton on the 53-man roster.)
— Will Palaszczuk (@WilliePStyle) October 14, 2021
After being brought up from the practice squad last Thursday, Robinson ended up seeing some playing time for Carolina on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings – and made one of the biggest plays of the game, scooping a blocked punt and returning it for a touchdown:
Kenny Robinson, best known for joining the XFL to help care for his mom who was diagnosed with colon cancer, scoops up the blocked punt and takes it in for the touchdown pic.twitter.com/TW0TG1Iq36
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 17, 2021
While Carolina ultimately lost in overtime, Robinson made some impressive contributions, and is proving his value to an NFL team.
What is wonderful to see was the support Robinson has garnered, as many have been rooting for him since he made his NFL debut. He has been through a lot in his short career, but the road ahead is certainly a bright one.
Kenny Robinson chose the XFL over college to support his family when his mom got cancer.
The safety became the first XFL player drafted when the Panthers took him in 2020.
Robinson got called up from the practice squad on Saturday.
On Sunday, he scored on a punt block TD 🙏 pic.twitter.com/GEFkFS1nBB
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) October 20, 2021
Other former XFL players have been performing quite well in the NFL, such as Donald Parham for the Los Angeles Chargers. This is good news, especially with the XFL’s 2023 return coming up, as these athletes are proving they are worthy of playing at a professional level if given the chance.
Who are some former XFL players you want to see in the NFL? Do you think Kenny Robinson will remain with the Panthers moving forward? Let us know down in the comments, or join the conversation on Discord!
