Jordan Ta'amu

Jordan Taalolo Ta'amu-Perifanos (born December 10, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). He was the starting quarterback for the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL during its inaugural season. Following the XFL folding midseason, Ta'amu was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs.

Jordan Ta'amu
Kansas City Chiefs
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1997-12-10) December 10, 1997
Pearl City, Hawaii
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:214 lb (97 kg)
Career information
High school:Pearl City
(Pearl City, Hawaii)
College:Ole Miss
Undrafted:2019
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Reserve/Future
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

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.

College career

Ta'amu played at the New Mexico Military Institute for two seasons before transferring to the University of Mississippi. As a sophomore he passed for 3,014 yards and 32 touchdowns. He transferred to Ole Miss before the 2017 season.[1] He entered the 2017 season as the backup to Shea Patterson, but took 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

Houston Texans

On August 7, 2019, Ta’amu signed with the Houston Texans.[8] On August 30, 2019, Ta’amu was released.[9]

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.[10] He is 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.[11] 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 28 - 24.[12] 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.[13] He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.[14]

Kansas City Chiefs

Ta’amu signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on April 2, 2020.[15] On September 5, 2020, he was waived.[16] He was signed to the practice squad the following day.[17] On October 3, 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19 and was placed on the practice squad/COVID-19 reserve list.[18] He was removed from the COVID-19 list on October 21.[19] He was released on October 27.[20]

Detroit Lions

On December 16, 2020, Ta'amu was signed to the Detroit Lions' practice squad.[21]

Kansas City Chiefs (second stint)

On January 12, 2021, Ta'amu was signed to the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad. Ta'amu was released by the Chiefs the following day and re-signed to a reserve/future contract.

Statistics
XFL statistics
YearTeamGPGSPassingRushing
CmpAttPctYdsY/ATDIntRtgAttYdsAvgTD
2020STL559713472.01,0508.052101.3412175.31
Career559713472.01,0508.052101.3412175.31

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. "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. 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. Wilson, Aaron (August 7, 2019). "Texans sign quarterback Jordan Ta'amu". Houston Chronicle. Hearst Communications. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  9. Wilson, Aaron (August 31, 2019). "Texans roster moves: Team trades for Carlos Hyde, Keion Crossen; deals Martinas Rankin". Houston Chronicle. Hearst Communications. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  10. Florio, Mike (October 15, 2019). "XFL announces its eight allocated quarterbacks". Profootballtalk.com. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  11. Sullivan, Tyler (February 9, 2020). "XFL scores, highlights in Week 1: New York Guardians, St. Louis BattleHawks earn wins on opening weekend". CBSSports.com. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  12. 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.
  13. "XFL Transactions". XFL.com. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  14. Condotta, Bob (April 10, 2020). "XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue". SeattleTimes.com. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  15. Dajani, Jordan (March 23, 2020). "Chiefs sign former St. Louis BattleHawks quarterback Jordan Ta'amu after successful XFL season". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  16. "Report: Chiefs waive former XFL QB Jordan Ta'amu". Chiefs Wire. September 5, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  17. "The Kansas City Chiefs Make Good Use Of New Practice Squad Rules". Forbes.com.
  18. Baca, Michael (October 3, 2020). "Chiefs practice squad QB Jordan Ta'amu tests positive for COVID-19, placed on reserve list". NFL.com. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  19. "Jordan Ta'amu: Healthy return to team". CBS Sports.com. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  20. Goldman, Charles (October 27, 2020). "Chiefs release practice squad QB Jordan Ta'amu". USAToday.com. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  21. Schlitt, Erik (December 16, 2020). "Lions sign QB Jordan Ta'amu, RB Jordan Scarlett to practice squad". USAToday.com. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
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