Jordan Ta'amu

Last updated

Jordan Ta'amu
Jordan Ta'amu (52735686195) (cropped).jpg
Ta'amu with the DC Defenders in 2023
No. 10 – DC Defenders
Position: Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1997-12-10) December 10, 1997 (age 26)
Pearl City, Hawaii, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:214 lb (97 kg)
Career information
High school: Pearl City
College:
Undrafted: 2019
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • XFL Offensive Player of the Year (2023)
  • All-XFL Team (2023)
  • USFL passing yards leader (2022)
  • USFL passing touchdowns leader (2022)
Career spring football statistics as of 2024
Passing attempts:943
Passing completions:572
Completion percentage:60.6
TD–INT:48-26
Passing yards:6,787
QB Rating:88.1
Rushing yards:1,086
Rushing touchdowns:6

Jordan Taalolo Ta'amu-Perifanos (born December 10, 1997) is an American professional football quarterback for the DC Defenders of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels. Ta'amu has been a member of several National Football League (NFL) teams and has started for the St. Louis BattleHawks and Defenders of the XFL and Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League (USFL). With the Bandits, he led the 2022 USFL season in passing yardage and touchdowns. Ta'amu was named XFL Offensive Player of the Year following the 2023 XFL season with the Defenders.

Contents

Early life and college

Ta'amu attended the Pearl City High School in Pearl City, Hawaii. As a senior, he passed for 1,779 yards with 29 touchdowns against four interceptions.

Ta'amu played at the New Mexico Military Institute for two seasons, passing for 3,014 yards and 32 touchdowns as a sophomore. [1] He transferred to Ole Miss in 2017, entering the season as the backup to Shea Patterson before taking over as the starter for the final five games after Patterson suffered an injury. He finished the season with 1,682 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. [2] [3] [4] [5] He also rushed for 165 yards and 4 touchdowns. [5] With Patterson transferring to the University of Michigan, Ta'amu entered the 2018 season as the starting quarterback. [6] In his senior season he passed for 3,918 yards, 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. [5] He also rushed for 342 yards and 6 touchdowns. [5] He finished the season ranked second in SEC passing yards, behind Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa, who played in three more games. [7]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 2+5⁄8 in
(1.90 m)		221 lb
(100 kg)		32+1⁄4 in
(0.82 m)		9+7⁄8 in
(0.25 m)		4.77 s1.59 s2.77 s4.36 s7.06 s27.5 in
(0.70 m)		9 ft 1 in
(2.77 m)
All values from NFL Combine [8] [9]

Houston Texans

On August 7, 2019, Ta'amu signed with the Houston Texans; [10] he was released on August 30, 2019. [11]

St. Louis BattleHawks

On October 15, 2019, Ta'amu was allocated to the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL, the first player for the team. [12] He was the only one of the XFL's first eight quarterbacks to not have any professional regular season experience. He signed a contract with the team on November 4, 2019. On January 29, 2020, Ta'amu was named the starting quarterback.

During the BattleHawks first game against the Dallas Renegades on February 9, Ta'amu threw for 209 yards and a passing touchdown, while rushing for 77 yards, helping the team win a 15–9 victory against the Renegades. [13] He had another productive game in Week 2 against the Houston Roughnecks, with 316 combined yards of offense and four total touchdowns, but threw 2 interceptions as the Battlehawks lost 24–28. [14] After the XFL's season was cut short, Ta'amu was placed on the reserve/other league list on April 2, 2020, in order to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs. [15] He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020. [16]

Kansas City Chiefs

Ta'amu signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on April 2, 2020. [17] On September 5, 2020, he was waived. [18] He was signed to the practice squad the following day. [19] On October 3, 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19 and was placed on the practice squad/COVID-19 reserve list. [20] He was removed from the COVID-19 list on October 21. [21] He was released on October 27. [22]

Detroit Lions

On December 16, 2020, Ta'amu was signed to the Detroit Lions' practice squad. [23]

Kansas City Chiefs (second stint)

Ta'amu was signed to a reserve/future contract on January 12, 2021. [24] [25] He was waived on May 10, 2021. [26]

Detroit Lions (second stint)

Ta'amu signed with the Detroit Lions on August 17, 2021. [27] He was cut six days later on August 23, 2021. [28]

Washington Football Team

Ta'amu in 2021 Jordan Ta'amu (cropped).jpg
Ta'amu in 2021

On December 15, 2021, Ta'amu was signed to the Washington Football Team's practice squad, [29] but was released eight days later. During this time the starting quarterback for Washington was Taylor Heinicke, who was Ta'amu's back up in the XFL.

Carolina Panthers

On December 30, 2021, Ta'amu was signed to the Carolina Panthers practice squad. [30] He was released on January 4, 2022.

Tampa Bay Bandits

Ta'amu was selected with the second pick of the 2022 USFL draft by the Tampa Bay Bandits. He led the USFL in passing yards at 2,014 and touchdowns with 14. [31]

DC Defenders

Ta'amu was assigned to the DC Defenders of the XFL on January 6, 2023. [32] [33] On May 5, 2023, Ta'amu was announced as the XFL's 2023 Offensive Player of the Year. [34] He was released from his contract on August 18, 2023. [35]

Minnesota Vikings

On August 21, 2023, he was signed by the Minnesota Vikings. [36] He was waived on August 28. [37]

On September 9, 2023, Ta'amu was revealed to be claimed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League on their negotiation list, as part of the league mandate making ten names from that list public. Under the CFL's terms of employment, the Roughriders will hold exclusive rights to Ta'amu should he seek to play in the CFL unless they remove him from the list. [38]

DC Defenders (second stint)

Ta'amu re-signed with the Defenders on February 22, 2024. [39]

Career statistics

Legend
Led the league
BoldCareer high
Regular Season statistics
YearTeamLeagueGamesPassingRushing
GPGSCmpAttPctYdsY/ATDIntRtgSacAttYdsAvgTD
2020 STL XFL 559713472.01,0508.052101.312412175.31
2022 TB USFL 101017230257.02,0146.7141276.225593656.11
2023 DC XFL 101014222762.61,8788.3143103.76673014.53
2024 DC UFL 101016128057.51,8466.615981.919432034.71
Career353557294360.66,7877.2482688.1622101,0865.16
Playoff statistics
YearTeamLeagueGamesPassingRushing
GPGSCmpAttPctYdsY/ATDIntRtgAttYdsAvgTD
2023 DC XFL 22356157.45038.24572.06345.70

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brett Hundley</span> American football player (born 1993)

Brett Alan Hundley Jr. is an American professional football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, where he was the school's career leader in both total offense and touchdown passes. He was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft, and started nine games for them in 2017, following a collarbone injury to Aaron Rodgers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardale Jones</span> American football football player (born 1992)

Cardale Jones is an American professional football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he was a CFP national champion, and was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft. He was also a member of the Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), the DC Defenders of the XFL, the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and the Massachusetts Pirates of the Indoor Football League (IFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad Kelly</span> American gridiron football player (born 1994)

Chad Patrick Kelly is an American professional football quarterback for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Clemson and Ole Miss. The Denver Broncos selected him in the seventh round with the final pick of the 2017 NFL draft, making him that year's Mr. Irrelevant. He has also been a member of the Indianapolis Colts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paxton Lynch</span> American football player (born 1994)

Paxton James Lynch is an American professional football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football for the Memphis Tigers, and was selected in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft by the Denver Broncos. Lynch played just two seasons in Denver and made four starts before being released prior to the 2018 season. Lynch has also been a member of the Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers, the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL), the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League (USFL), and the Orlando Guardians and San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shea Patterson</span> American football player (born 1997)

Shea Christopher Patterson is an American professional football quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels (2016–2017) and the Michigan Wolverines (2018–2019). He was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2020. He was drafted in the 2018 Major League Baseball draft by the Texas Rangers and they retain his rights until 2024. The Michigan Panthers drafted Patterson with the first pick in the 2022 USFL draft. He has also played with the New Orleans Breakers of the United States Football League (USFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Case Cookus</span> American gridiron football player (born 1995)

Stephen Case Cookus, nicknamed the Chef, is an American professional football quarterback for the Memphis Showboats of the United Football League (UFL). As a true freshman at Northern Arizona University, he was named the recipient of the 2015 Jerry Rice Award and the STATS FCS Freshman Player of the Year Award, both of which are awarded to the most outstanding freshman player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. He holds the record for most combined passing and rushing touchdowns in a USFL game with five, which he accomplished in a game against the Michigan Panthers on June 5, 2022.

Deondre Francois is an American football quarterback for the DC Defenders of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for Hampton University and Florida State University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luis Perez (American football)</span> American football player (born 1994)

Luis Francisco Perez is an American professional football quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas A&M University–Commerce from 2015 to 2017. Prior to that, he played junior college football at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California. He was awarded the Harlon Hill Trophy in 2017 as the best football player in NCAA Division II and led the Lions to their second national championship in football during the 2017 season, their first since 1972. He won the 2023 XFL Championship with the Arlington Renegades. Perez was named MVP of the Championship Game, leading the Renegades to a 35–26 victory over the D.C. Defenders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad Williams (wide receiver)</span> American football player (born 1994)

Chad Williams is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Grambling State. He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round in the 2017 NFL draft. He has also played for the Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Breakers and Arlington Renegades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Sloter</span> American football player (born 1994)

Kyle Joseph Sloter is an American professional football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles before transferring to the Northern Colorado Bears. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) in 2017. He also subsequently has been a member of the Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, Las Vegas Raiders, and Jacksonville Jaguars. He also played for the New Orleans Breakers of the USFL and the Arlington Renegades of the XFL.

Chase Litton is an American professional football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at Marshall University. He was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex McGough</span> American football player (born 1995)

Alexander Lee McGough is an American professional football wide receiver and quarterback who is currently a free agent. He played college football at FIU, and was selected by Seattle Seahawks in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL draft. He has also been a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, Birmingham Stallions, and Green Bay Packers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Montez</span> American football player (born 1997)

Steven Montez is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Colorado and signed with the Washington Football Team as an undrafted free agent in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Shurmur</span> American football player (born 1996)

Kyle Shurmur is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive quality control coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played quarterback in college football at Vanderbilt, and signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2019.

D'Eriq King is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach at Southern Methodist University. He played college football at the University of Houston before transferring to the University of Miami where he played quarterback.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Corral</span> Mexican-American football player (born 1999)

Matthew Anthony Corral is an American professional football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Ole Miss and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Badet</span> American gridiron football player (born 1994)

Jeff Badet is an American former professional football wide receiver. He played college football at Kentucky before transferring to Oklahoma to finish his collegiate career, and signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He was also a member of the Dallas Renegades, Washington Football Team, Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders, Michigan Panthers, Vegas Vipers, and Toronto Argonauts. In the 2020 XFL Draft, he was selected fourth overall by the Renegades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryan Scott (quarterback)</span> American gridiron football player (born 1995)

Bryan James Scott is an American professional football quarterback who is a free agent. He most recently played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Occidental College. He also played for the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League (USFL) in 2022.

Osirus Mitchell is an American football wide receiver. He played college football at Mississippi State. He signed with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent following the 2021 NFL draft. He had stints with the Green Bay Packers, Birmingham Stallions and Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League (USFL), and the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL. While with the Stallions he was a USFL champion.

Davis Cheek is a former American football quarterback. He was a member of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL), New Orleans Breakers of the United States Football League (USFL), and Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Elon.

References

  1. ↑ Morales, Antonio (November 10, 2017). "How did Jordan Ta'amu, a Hawaii native who went to a New Mexico JUCO, end up at Ole Miss?". The Clarion-Ledger . Gannett . Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  2. ↑ Kellenberger, Hugh (July 17, 2018). "Jordan Ta'amu is the quarterback Ole Miss needs for this moment". The Clarion-Ledger . Gannett . Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  3. ↑ Sallee, Barrett (July 17, 2018). "Forgotten star of the SEC, Ole Miss QB Jordan Ta'amu ready to emerge from the shadows". CBS Sports . Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  4. ↑ Garrett, Ben (March 8, 2018). "Ta'amu taking ownership in senior season". Oxford Citizen. Daily Journal. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Jordan Ta'amu Stats". ESPN . Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  6. ↑ Kellenberger, Hugh (July 17, 2018). "Jordan Ta'amu ready for first season as Ole Miss' fulltime starter". USA Today . Gannett. Archived from the original on September 11, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  7. ↑ Spencer, Adam (January 14, 2019). "Quarterback-needy NFL team reportedly spent a lot of time with Jordan Ta'amu after Shrine Game practice". Saturday Down South. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Jordan Ta'amu Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  9. ↑ "2019 NFL Draft Scout Jordan Ta'amu College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  10. ↑ Wilson, Aaron (August 7, 2019). "Texans sign quarterback Jordan Ta'amu". Houston Chronicle . Hearst Communications . Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  11. ↑ Wilson, Aaron (August 31, 2019). "Texans roster moves: Team trades for Carlos Hyde, Keion Crossen; deals Martinas Rankin". Houston Chronicle . Hearst Communications . Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  12. ↑ Florio, Mike (October 15, 2019). "XFL announces its eight allocated quarterbacks". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  13. ↑ Sullivan, Tyler (February 9, 2020). "XFL scores, highlights in Week 1: New York Guardians, St. Louis BattleHawks earn wins on opening weekend". CBS Sports. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  14. ↑ Shimabuku, Christian (February 17, 2020). "Pearl City's Jordan Ta'amu throws three touchdowns in Week 2 of XFL action". KHON2. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  15. ↑ "XFL Transactions". XFL. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  16. ↑ Condotta, Bob (April 10, 2020). "XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue". Seattle Times. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  17. ↑ Dajani, Jordan (March 23, 2020). "Chiefs sign former St. Louis BattleHawks quarterback Jordan Ta'amu after successful XFL season". CBS Sports. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  18. ↑ Goldman, Charles (September 5, 2020). "Report: Chiefs waive former XFL QB Jordan Ta'amu". Chiefs Wire. USA Today. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  19. ↑ "The Kansas City Chiefs Make Good Use Of New Practice Squad Rules". Forbes.
  20. ↑ Baca, Michael (October 3, 2020). "Chiefs practice squad QB Jordan Ta'amu tests positive for COVID-19, placed on reserve list". NFL. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Jordan Ta'amu: Healthy return to team". CBS Sports. October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  22. ↑ Goldman, Charles (October 27, 2020). "Chiefs release practice squad QB Jordan Ta'amu". USA Today. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  23. ↑ Schlitt, Erik (December 16, 2020). "Lions sign QB Jordan Ta'amu, RB Jordan Scarlett to practice squad". USA Today. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  24. ↑ Goldman, Charles (January 15, 2021). "Chiefs sign WR Chad Williams, QB Jordan Ta'amu to reserve/future contracts". Chiefs Wire. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  25. ↑ Goldman, Charles (January 12, 2021). "Chiefs sign QB Jordan Ta'amu to practice squad, cut Tyler Clark". Chiefs Wire. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  26. ↑ Williams, Charean (May 10, 2021). "Chiefs cut Jordan Ta'amu, Bryan Witzmann". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  27. ↑ "Former Ole Miss QB Jordan Ta'amu signs with new NFL team". Saturday Down South. August 17, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  28. ↑ "Lions cut Darius Jennings, Jordan Ta'amu, three others". ProFootballTalk. August 23, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Washington places 7 players on Reserve/COVID-19 list, designates Sam Cosmi to return from IR, signs 2 to practice squad". Washington Commanders. December 15, 2021. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  30. ↑ Gantt, Darin (December 30, 2021). "Panthers place three more on COVID-19 list, activate one". Carolina Panthers.
  31. ↑ Redding, Jared. "Jordan Ta'amu finished first USFL season as a top offensive performer". 247 Spirts. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  32. ↑ Mitchell, Mike (January 4, 2023). "Jordan Ta'amu Returns To The XFL, Joins The D.C. Defenders". xflnewshub.com. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  33. ↑ @XFLDefenders (January 6, 2023). ".@JTaamu10 has a new home, and it's D.C." (Tweet). Retrieved January 7, 2023– via Twitter.
  34. ↑ "Ta'amu Named 2023 XFL Offensive Player of the Year". www.xfl.com. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  35. ↑ "XFL Transactions". XFL.com. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  36. ↑ Peters, Craig (August 21, 2023). "Vikings Sign Quarterback Jordan Ta'amu". Vikings.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  37. ↑ "Vikings Begin Roster Reductions Ahead of Final Roster Cut Deadline". Vikings.com. August 28, 2023.
  38. ↑ Ten players revealed from each CFL team's negotiation list. CFL.ca. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  39. ↑ "Luis Perez and Jordan Ta'amu to return for 2024 season". TheUFL.com. February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.