NFL, The Spring League, usfl, XFL

Cannella, Sal

CARD: TNT XFL 2023
ACQUIRED: IP 2024, San Antonio Brahmas v Arlington Renegades

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Salvatore Cannella played TE/WR at Auburn from 2017-’19.
  • Oft used at the majority ground and pound school, he provided mismatches with his unusual size (6’5″, 228), speed, and hands.
  • He finished his college career with 25 catches for 330 yards and 5 TDs.
  • Undrafted, Sal played in 2020 for the TSL Generals of the Spring Football League.
  • He put in his all catching 5 passes for 66 yards and a TD in the Spring League Championship Game.
  • After a workout with the Colts, he played for the Generals again in 2021.
  • This led to short stints with a mini-camp at Chicago, and on the off season roster of the Dolphins that year.
  • The TSL retooled as the USFL, and Sal found himself as the second TE off the board in the positional phase of the league’s draft by the New Orleans Breakers in 2022.
  • Sal had a great season, catching 34 passes for 368 yards and a TD.
  • Shortly thereafter he spent roughly a month on the Packers offseason roster.
  • Cannella was a huge defection for the USFL, when he was drafted and signed by the Arlington Renegades of the XFL in 2023.
  • He finished second in receiving among TEs with 42 receptions for 415 yards, and was a key cog in the Renegades XFL Championship victory.
  • After offseason stints with both the Seahawks and Vikings, he resigned with the Renegades for the ’24 campaign.
  • Sal concluded the season with 53 catches for 497 yards and 6 TDs.
  • He joined the Bucs for the offseason, but didn’t make the squad.

ACCOLADES:

  • All USFL Team 2022
  • All XFL 2023

NOTES:

A little over a week before the game, I went ahead and created and ordered cards of Sal and Luis Perez. (I wasn’t going to be caught flat footed like the previous season.) I was pretty happy with the results.

When I went to the game, I arrived at my normal seats. The players were doing warmups and I flagged down Sal. He looked genuinely touched that I made a card of him and that it was of such high production value. Sal signed the card, and I let him keep the extras I had as thanks.