NEWLY SIGNED WIDEOUT TEO REDDING GETS PRAISED BY FORMER TEAMMATE PIRATES DL TOBY JOHNSON

The Pirates recently signed wide receiver Teo Redding, who has experience playing in the XFL and NFL. During his time playing for the Detriot Lions and the XFL for the New York Guardians, Redding was teammates with Pirates defensive lineman Toby Johson.

Johnson explained that during training camp with the Lions, Redding was the best player of the whole camp and had high praise of Redding’s ability on the field, “He’s just a super athletic guy. Super explosive and just he can go get that ball when they put it in the air.” The big question with wide receivers when transitioning to arena football is how will they be able to acclimate to the shorter field of 50 yards? I asked Toby the same question and he said, “I feel like he’ll adjust really well. With Dro (Pirates quarterback Alejandro Bennifield) having a good arm, he could just throw the ball up and I promise you, he’ll come down to get the ball. He’s super explosive and he can go get the ball when they put it in the air. He going to be one of the big play guys.”

During a past interview, Johnson mentioned that the chemistry in the locker room was one of the biggest reasons why the Pirates won the championship and went on their 11-game winning streak to end the season. Redding’s former teammate praised his character and said, “He’s a funny, goofy guy and is always joking around and laughing. Teo’s a really good person to be around and he can bring a lot to the team.” From Johnson’s comments, it seems like Redding will be a great addition to the team not only talent-wise but also team chemistry-wise.

Redding was signed in early January and will be going into his debut season in arena football and the Indoor Football League. This last season, he was a member of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League but didn’t appear in any games. During 2020, Redding played in the XFL as a member of the New York Guardians and posted eight receptions for 102 yards over 5 games. The 6’1”, 180 lb. wideout has also spent time in NFL during 2019 on the practice squads of the Detriot Lions, Washington Football Team, and Green Bay Packers. The newly signed wideout will bring a lot of experience and talent to the Pirates receiver corps and could be a key contributor to the passing attack.