Heartthrob: The Rise of PJ walker
Connor’s QB Injury history has been well-documented throughout the first half of the season. From Tua, to Teddy, to Matty, to Andy, this situation has led the Pup N Suds toward some… unconventional Quarterbacks, from a fantasy perspective. The league has seen some fringe QB’s rostered in the past, due to the natural scarcity in a Superflex format, but none of us were prepared for what we witnessed on Wednesday, October 12, when waivers cleared.
That morning, when Kolkata league members woke up and checked the waivers activity, Pup N Suds broke the internet. No one had heard of this guy. System QB’s, Dual Threats, Gym Rats, that’s the kind of selection we are accustomed to here in Kolkata. But PJ Walker? The third stringer out of Carolina? It simply shocked the entire Fantasy Football community. And that’s when the reactions started pouring in.
So who is PJ Walker? Not a household name by any means, so lets get some background info on the new Carolina Commander. Phillip “P.J.” Walker was born in 1995 in New Jersey. A very low 3-star prospect out of High School, Walker was ranked 1607th in the country by 247 Composite rankings, the 41st ranked dual-threat QB, and the 42nd best player in the state of New Jersey. Walker had limited D-1 offers, and ended up committing to Temple, where he would play for none other than future Panthers head coach Matt Rhule. Walker earned the starting role late in his Freshman season, and would never relinquish that position throughout his collegiate career. Walker led the overperforming Owls to multiple 10-4 seasons, and finished his career as the Temple career record holder in:
-Wins by a starting quarterback (28)
-Passing yards
-Passing touchdowns
-Completions
-Attempts
-Total yards
-Total touchdowns
Walker plastered his name atop the record books at Temple University like Mauldin painting a dorm room wall after a dream. But despite the accolades, there was no buzz surrounding Walker in the 2017 NFL Draft. Height and accuracy concerns soured scouts on the Temple product, and he ended up never hearing his name called in the Draft. Walker would end up signing with the Colts as an UDFA, and his Colts tenure was anything but stable. From Wikipedia:
“He was waived on September 2, 2017 and was signed to the Colts' practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Colts on January 1, 2018. On September 1, 2018, Walker was waived by the Colts and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He spent time on and off the Colts practice squad before being released on December 26, 2018, but was re-signed three days later. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 13, 2019. On August 31, 2019, Walker was waived and signed to the practice squad the next day, only to be released two days later.”
A tumultuous and un-inspiring experience to be sure, it was looking like Walker’s days in the NFL were numbered. But in Indianapolis, P.J. made a valuable ally. Andrew Luck, the Colts QB at the time and NFL superstar, was fond of Walker, noting his skill, work ethic, and “eyes you could get lost in”. The two QB’s quickly formed a bond as teammates and competitors on the field, but is that where their relationship ended? In 2017, when Walker first joined the Colts, Andrew Luck was in the middle of a lost season due to shoulder injury. Jacoby Brisset was the fill-in QB for the Colts, as Luck and Walker watched on from the sidelines. Media reports indicated that the two would regularly come out of the locker room late after practice, or sometimes not at all, which the team dismissed as “Rehab” time for the Quarterbacks. Teammates reported that throughout Walker’s entire tenure in Indianapolis, there was palpable energy between him and Luck. One unnamed player said the teammates would often make eye contact and bite their lips during team meetings. It’s customary for NFL players to slap each others butt after a good play in practice or a game, but those around the team said that Walker and Luck would do it an uncomfortable amount, and would often hold their hands there for a few seconds while locking eyes. It’s impossible to know the true nature of their relationship, but it all would come to an end very soon. On August 24th 2019, Andrew Luck announced his retirement from Football, which was (and is) probably the most shocking retirement announcement of all time. Luck was in the middle of his prime, and was coming off a 2018 season full of personal bests. Luck’s explanation for his retirement was a cycle of injuries and rehab, but aside from the Shoulder injury that held him out in 2017, the Colts star had been relatively healthy. There's definitely more to the story here. Sure enough, less than a week later, reports began circulating that Luck’s wife had caught wind of the relationship with Walker, and gave him an ultimatum. Shortly after his retirement, TMZ leaked a phone call between the two that gave this claim some merit:
Leaked texts would later reveal that “Brotherhood” was a term Walker used for his intact foreskin.
Despite the evidence, the Luck family has always denied these rumors and repeatedly claim the sudden retirement was injury-related. Sources close to the family claim that Andrew’s father, Oliver Luck, was absolutely livid about the situation. He blamed PJ Walker for the sudden derailing of his son's football career, and muddying the relationship between Andrew and Nicole. The family allegedly had to hold back Oliver at Luck’s retirement press conference, when Walker snuck in to watch his teammate give the heartbreaking news. One camera angle from that day does catch a glimpse of Walker looking on, looking anguished, while Luck fights back tears.
So what happened with PJ Walker? The Colts job is very far out of reach for him, he's been bouncing between the practice squad and small reserve contracts for Indy going on 2 years now. Why does he stick around so long? Why not explore other options? Well exactly seven days after Andrew Luck retires, Walker forced the team to waive him by not appearing at multiple practices. So PJ endured the grind of the practice squad and reserve contracts for over 2 years, but just happens to throw in the towel exactly one week after Luck announces he's retiring? Is that just a cosmic coincidence? Or did PJ have a giant Andrew Luck sized hole in his heart? Would Walker have already left years ago if he and Andrew "The General'' Luck weren't stuck in a passionate cobweb of forbidden thrills?
It was clear Walker needed a change of scenery after the drama on the Colts. Walker was drafted in October 2019 to the XFL, which had recently been revived in an attempt to siphon some viewers from the NFL. The story continues to get crazier from here, because shortly after being drafted in the XFL and joining the Houston Roughnecks, the Pittsburgh Steelers reached out to Walker to add him to their roster. Walker was obviously elated at the proposition of getting a fresh start in the NFL, but the XFL blocked this from happening, forcing Walker to finish his XFL contract.
Why would the XFL care, you ask? It does make sense for them to enforce the contracts, since they don't want to be viewed as a stepping stone toward the NFL. However, there is precedent for allowing a players' release when an NFL squad is willing to pay out their contract, which the Steelers proposed. So why not Walker, then? Seems almost random for him to be treated differently. That is, until you learn that the transaction was blocked by the commissioners office. And who was the Commissioner of the XFL at the time? None other than Oliver Luck. That's right, Andrew Luck's father, who believes that PJ Walker seduced his son out of a Hall of Fame NFL career, is the one responsible for Walker's future. The commish blocks his release from the XFL, essentially dashing any hope of Walker's dreams to be a QB in the NFL.
Well what goes around comes around, and Walker can thank Covid-19 for shutting down the XFL season just 5 games after it began, essentially freeing him from his contract. Just 5 days after the XFL canceled the season, Walker signed a contract with the Carolina Panthers to come on as a backup QB. After a tumultuous journey, PJ was finally on an NFL squad without emotional baggage, and could put the Andrew Luck fiasco behind him. Or so we thought….
We all laughed at the lengths Carter went this offseason to ensure he was prepared for the Fantasy season. The amount of Mock Drafts and sorting by new in r/fantasyfootball were previously unheard of. But Connor has been up to something much more sinister that has gone under the radar for years. It's been right under our noses the whole time, but he's gone to great lengths to go undetected. You see, Connor knows that all of us watch Redzone, we see a fair amount of games on a weekly basis. We're glued to our screens and nothing in those games could go undetected. He's too smart to risk something at one of those contests. But when the Pup N Suds owner heard that there was an NFL quality quarterback starting in the XFL? Well, this picture speaks for itself, taken in early 2020.
That's right, Connor personally scouted a Houston Roughnecks game to get his eyes on PJ Walker. He knows that most of us wouldn't see every detail in an XFL game, so he got front row tickets to see the specimen for himself. From that day, Connor knew he had to take a chance on the Houston QB when he did make it into the big leagues.
All of that has led to this season. When Baker went down for the Panthers, Connor knew who was waiting in the wings on their depth chart. He had been waiting for this opportunity for over a year. To keep his scouting a secret, Connor took a risk and made a $0 claim, further cementing the guise that it was a casual pickup, an afterthought, almost. He even dropped PJ a week later, before picking him right back up, to keep the league off his scent. Connor had got his guy. Surely this stud that had flown under the radar would be a staple for the Pup N Suds, and potentially even a keeper for years to come.
Walker had an expectedly slow start for the Pup N Suds, but in Week 7, led an outlandish upset against the Brady-led Bucs. It was all starting to come together. What followed Week 7 was unprecedented.
Connor inexplicably drops the Carolina Quarterback the same day he had picked him back up, and after Walker dismantled the Bucs. This is Connor's QB1 we are talking about, the backbone of his team. Connor has planned this out for years, what is going on behind the scenes? How come everywhere Walker goes, he brings an aura of uncertainty, of drama, of intrigue? Walker's short time on the Pup N Suds is eerily similar to his tenure with Colts. Could there be something similar occurring here? Is it possible that Connor and PJ Walker's relationship is more than the typical Manager/Player dynamic?
While Connor has kept his intentions hidden since 2020, it's possible that information revealed recently could help clue us in to what's going on behind the scenes.
Connor was allegedly out of town this past week, on Vacation in the Bahamas. What's interesting is that his visit was Tuesday evening through Saturday morning. Most vacationers include a full weekend to capitalize on the time off, but Connor's stay does not. Is it a coincidence that his vacation lies in between PJ Walker's game days? Could he have taken a quick holiday in celebration of beating his division rivals?
Connor claims that the reason for the bizarre transactions was a "Bahama Mama", and then crudely deflects by insulting leaguemate Chafey's ability to handle his alcohol. Clearly unwarranted, untrue, and a sign that Connor is in damage control mode.
Connor also revealed that he was a big chatterbox when he visited the Atlantis resort in Nassau, making the rounds and discussing the prices of the resort with numerous visitors. Is that where the conversations ended?
Could this "Bahama Mama" be a misdirection? The assumption would be that Connor is referencing the popular rum-based exotic drink. But what if that's not the case at all, and the biggest clue of all is right beneath our noses?
Here is what I think transpired, based on the evidence we have accumulated so far:
Connor drops PJ Walker on October 18th, and texts the QB "Hey bro, you know what I'm about, but I have to wait for a good game to pick you back up. It's going to be too obvious what's going on if I hold you through these 2-point stinkers". Walker, a bonafide competitor, takes that to heart. On October 23rd, he delivers a herculean performance against the Bucs, winning the game, and more importantly, Connor's favor. The two plan a celebration in Nassau, and Connor adds Walker back to his roster as soon as he arrives, with the ink being signed on the morning of October 26th. That very same day, Connor and Walker meet up in the Bahamas, at the famous Atlantis resort, and get lunch. They begin going through the buffet line, notice that Kelvin Benjamin is also in line with 4 plates, get their food, and find a table. Connor is a few drinks deep at this point and is talking to the family of four at the table next to them about their stay. The family is on vacation from Texas, and Connor and the Husband/Father discuss the exorbitant prices of the resort. Simultaneously, the Wife/Mother is clearly eyeing up Connor. His glistening sunburnt body and obscure knowledge of the American Vandal series seem to drive her absolutely wild with desire. And then it happens, the Wife, attempting to be discreet, gives Connor a wink from across the table. PJ Walker, who is at the table with Connor, notices this happening and becomes irate. He gets up and leaves the table. Connor chases after him and asks what's wrong, Walker knows there is something going on between Connor and the woman from the table, she is the Bahama Mama. Walker demands that Connor drop him from his team, and declares he's leaving the next morning.
I'm not sure what exactly happened after that, but it's clear they made amends that night, as Connor swiftly re-added Walker to the Pup N Suds the very next day. Three days later, Walker lights it up in a thriller vs the Falcons, and that leaves us where we are now.
It's clear that Walker has some sort of gravity about him. Powerful people feel drawn to him, and drama follows him everywhere he goes. We saw how it ended in catastrophe in Indianapolis, will his career on the Pup N Suds suffer the same fate? It's all speculation at this point, but it's possible there could be some Chernobyl-level fallout if things begin to go awry between Walker and his team owner. In the middle of a strong season, Connor cannot afford to fall victim to a meltdown like the Colts experienced in 2019. Only time will be able to tell if PJ Walker is a ticking time bomb, or the very reason for Connor's success.