Matt Elam’s football career may have bottomed out. Former NFL first round pick has been freed by the XFL DC Defenders on Tuesday after just four games with the team.
The move likely came as a bit of a surprise to Elam, who had arguably their best game of the season in the Defenders’ 25-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Vipers on Sunday. During the loss of the shutout, Elam seemed to be the only Defenders player who actually wanted to play defense as he racked up 12 high-end combined tackles.
In his four games with the Defenders (2-2), Elam had 15 tackles and one interception. The 28-year-old XFL player marked his first professional team appearance in the United States since 2016, when he was eliminated by the Baltimore Ravens.
Elam’s professional career began in 2013 after the Ravens selected him with the 32nd overall pick in the NFL draft. Safety actually had an impressive start in Baltimore as he started a total of 26 games in his first two seasons with the team. However, Elam missed the entire 2015 season with a torn bicep muscle and was never really the same player after that. Upon his return in 2016, Elam only played nine games and the Ravens chose not to choose his fifth year option.
Just before the start of free agency in 2016, Elam was arrested twice over a three-month period, which essentially killed any deal he could have had. Although Elam has not played in the NFL in the past three seasons, he spent time in the CFL before being drafted in the XFL in October.
Elam hoped to continue his playing career in the fledgling league, but that will only happen if another team is ready to sign it.