Jordan

Ta'amu

Ta’amu spent a week with the Vikings but is now back looking for work. A legend of the spring football circuits, Ta’amu has struggled to secure a long-term NFL job. He didn’t appear in the Vikings’ final preseason game but could draw the interest of other teams who have followed him in other leagues. In addition to cutting Ta’amu, the Vikings also parted ways with RB Abram Smith, and LB Jake Gervase.

Ta’amu visited with the Vikings in early-June, and will now look to compete with backups Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall in the coming weeks. Neither Mullens nor Hall has been particularly impressive in two preseason outings, and Ta’amu has flashed in non-NFL action. During 2023’s XFL season, he threw for 1,894 yards, 14 touchdowns, and three interceptions with the DC Defenders while adding another 67-298-3 on the ground.

Ta’amu, 25, was the XFL Offensive Player of the Year and has had brief NFL training camp stints with the Texans, Chiefs, and Lions. The Vikings have Nick Mullens and rookie fifth-rounder Jaren Hall behind Kirk Cousins, and it’s possible that Ta’amu could push for a spot on the end of the roster.

Ta’amu spent time with the Chiefs and the Lions during his short NFL stint, mostly as a practice squad member. He played his college ball at Ole Miss, throwing a total of 5,600 yards (9.5 yards per attempt), 30 touchdowns, and 12 picks over 19 games. Of course, it’s worth mentioning that his college receivers included A.J. Brown, DK Metcalf, Elijah Moore, and Van Jefferson. Ta’amu will now have the chance to revitalize his career in the upstart USFL.

Ta’amu signed with the Chiefs after a successful stint in the XFL but was waived and added to their practice squad before the start of the 2020 season. He joined the Lions’ practice squad in December but quickly returned to Kansas City for their playoff run. Ta’amu didn’t see action with either team. Detroit’s backup quarterbacks, Tim Boyle and David Blough, are both nursing minor injuries so Ta’amu is likely just a camp body for the Lions unless he excels in practice.

Chiefs practice squad QB Jordan Ta’amu returned a positive test this week but it looks like Kansas City contained the spread to just Ta’amu. The Chiefs are set to play the Patriots on Monday after New England also returned exclusively negative tests on Sunday morning. Kansas City will face a Patriots offense led by Brian Hoyer as Cam Newton’s positive test caused their matchup to be moved initially. Fantasy managers can tentatively plan on having all Chiefs players available on Monday.

P.J. Walker signed with the Panthers earlier Monday. He and Ta’amu were easily the two best quarterbacks in the eight-team league before it was abruptly shut down after five weeks of action. Just 22, Ta’amu completed 72% of his passes for the BattleHawks at 8.0 yards per attempt with a 5:2 TD:INT mark along with 217 rushing yards and a sixth score. The former Ole Miss starter has good size at 6'3/215. He joins Chad Henne and Kyle Shurmur behind Patrick Mahomes.