Two more New York Guardians are headed to the NFL

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - FEBRUARY 29: Cavon Walker #99 of the New York Guardians high fives fans after the XFL game against the LA Wildcats at MetLife Stadium on February 29, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Rob Tringali/XFL via Getty Images)

New York Guardians linemen from both sides of the ball are getting the call to the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers.

X apparently marks the spot for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The iconic NFL franchise is set to add two members of the New York Guardians to their roster. New York’s XFL squad announced that offensive lineman Jarron Jones and defensive lineman Cavon Walker received the call from the six-time Super Bowl champions on Wednesday.

Walker’s abbreviated XFL season ended with him as the league’s new sack king, leading the league with 4.5 quarterback takedowns. Three of those sacks came over the last two games, both New York victories. Walker previously partook in NFL preseason action during the summers of 2018 (Chicago) and 2019 (Kansas City). He has accumulated 13 tackles and 2.5 sacks over eight exhibition games. The Maryland alum was chosen in the eighth round of the “front seven” portion of the XFL Draft held last fall.

 

Jones’ New York arrival (first-round pick in the offensive line portion of the draft) was a slight homecoming, as the Notre Dame alum spent portions of the 2017 and 2018 preseasons with the New York Giants. He played both sides of the ball at both South Bend and East Rutherford but stuck to offensive duties with the Guardians. Jones was a starter on the New York offensive line, partaking in all five games.

With their debut season cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, XFL players have been granted permission to agree to terms with NFL squads, though the players remain under contract with their former team until later this spring. Jones and Walker are the second and third players to agree to NFL terms. Cornerback Dravon Askew-Henry signed with the local Giants earlier this week.

The Guardians were 3-2 and locked in a first-place tie in the XFL’s East Division at the time of the season’s cancellation.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags