Tampa Bay Vipers Roster (XFL Football)

When thinking about pro football in Tampa, Florida, most people point to the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But the city has been the home to two other professional franchises. The USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits (1983-85) launched the careers of many NFL greats, while the Arena Football League's Tampa Bay Storm (1987-2017) was the summer attraction in town long before the arrival of the MLB's Devil Rays in 1998. The Storm won five Arena Bowl titles (1991, '93, '95, '96, 2003), with the first four coming before the Buccaneers took home the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Thanks to the XFL, Tampa will welcome its fourth pro franchise when the Tampa Bay Vipers move into Raymond James Stadium next week. This will be the XFL's second foray into the state of Florida. Back in 2001, the original XFL set up shop just a few hours northeast with the Orlando Rage. The Vipers will also become the second Florida team within the calendar year to kick off an inaugural campaign (Orlando Apollos, AAF).

Leading this team will be a name that is familiar to many football fans: Marc Trestman. Trestman has nearly 40 years of experience as a head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach with the NFL, CFL, and NCAA. His resume speaks for itself. And he'll have a talented roster to work with featuring some big names. His quarterback will be Aaron Murray, who spent a legendary career at Georgia before bouncing around the NFL and later the AAF's Atlanta Legends.

Another player that Tampa area fans will be familiar with is running back Quinton Flowers, who is no stranger to Raymond James Stadium as he spent four collegiate seasons there as the starting quarterback for South Florida. He was the American Athletic Conference's all-time leader in total offense (11,796 total yards, 112 total touchdowns) before converting to running back and spending some time with the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Vipers' roster also includes former Florida Gator Antonio Callaway, a fourth-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2018 NFL Draft. Callaway showed promise as a rookie but played in just four games this past season due to a pair of suspensions for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. In between suspensions, he was waived by the Browns in mid-November for reportedly showing up late to meetings and practices.

Note: Roster subject to change.