Jordan Taalolo Ta'amu-Perifanos (born December 10, 1997) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The Defenders compete in the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded by Vince McMaho ...

of the United Football League (UFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...

. Ta'amu has been a member of several

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) teams and has started for the St. Louis Battlehawks and Defenders of the XFL and

Tampa Bay Bandits The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL and was the only franchise to have the same principal ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). With the Bandits, he led the

2022 USFL season The 2022 USFL season was the inaugural season of the United States Football League, and the first season of a league using that name since 1985. The season began on April 16 and concluded on July 3. The league's eight teams represent various geog ...

in passing yardage and touchdowns. Ta'amu was named XFL Offensive Player of the Year following the

2023 XFL season The 2023 XFL season was the second season in the reboot of the XFL, the first under its new ownership group of Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Gerry Cardinale (RedBird Capital), and the third in the history of the XFL brand created and origina ...

with the Defenders.

Early life and college

Ta'amu attended the Pearl City High School in

Pearl City, Hawaii Pearl City is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the Ewa District, Hawaii, Ewa District and Honolulu County, Hawaii, City & County of Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Oahu, in the U.S. state of ...

. As a senior, he passed for 1,779 yards with 29

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

against four

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

. Ta'amu played at

New Mexico Military Institute New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) is a public military junior college and high school in Roswell, New Mexico. Founded in 1891, NMMI operates under the auspices of the State of New Mexico, under a dedicated Board of Regents that reports t ...

for two seasons, passing for 3,014 yards and 32 touchdowns as a sophomore. He transferred to

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

in 2017, entering the season as the backup to

Shea Patterson Shea Christopher Patterson (born January 17, 1997) is an American professional gridiron football, football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels football, Ole Miss Rebels (2016–2017) and the Michi ...

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. He also rushed for 165 yards and 4 touchdowns. With Patterson transferring to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, Ta'amu entered the 2018 season as the starting quarterback. In his senior season he passed for 3,918 yards, 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He also rushed for 342 yards and 6 touchdowns. He finished the season ranked second in SEC passing yards, behind Alabama's

Tua Tagovailoa Tuanigamanuolepola Donny Tagovailoa ( ; born March 2, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide ...

, who played in three more games.

Statistics

Professional career

Houston Texans

On August 7, 2019, Ta'amu signed with the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

; he was released on August 30, 2019.

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. 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 The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The Renegades compete in the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded as the D ...

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. 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. 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 The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Kansas City Chiefs (first stint)

Ta'amu signed with the

on April 2, 2020. On September 5, 2020, he was waived. He was signed to the practice squad the following day. On October 3, 2020, he tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

and was placed on the practice squad/COVID-19 reserve list. He was removed from the COVID-19 list on October 21. He was released on October 27.

Detroit Lions (first stint)

On December 16, 2020, Ta'amu was signed to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

' practice squad.

Kansas City Chiefs (second stint)

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

Detroit Lions (second stint)

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

Washington Football Team

On December 15, 2021, Ta'amu was signed to the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

's practice squad, but was released eight days later. During this time, the starting quarterback for Washington was

Taylor Heinicke Taylor Heinicke ( ; born March 15, 1993) is an American professional football quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Old Dominion Monarchs football, Old Dominion Monarch ...

, who was Ta'amu's back up in the XFL.

Carolina Panthers

On December 30, 2021, Ta'amu was signed to the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

practice squad. He was released on January 4, 2022.

Tampa Bay Bandits

Ta'amu was selected with the second pick of the

2022 USFL draft The 2022 USFL draft, also known as the 2022 USFL player selection meeting, was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2022 USFL season. The draft was held on February 22–23, 2022, with results released thro ...

by the

. He led the USFL in passing yards at 2,014 and touchdowns with 14.

DC Defenders (first stint)

Ta'amu was assigned to the

of the XFL on January 6, 2023. On May 5, 2023, Ta'amu was announced as the XFL's 2023 Offensive Player of the Year. He was released from his contract on August 18, 2023.

Minnesota Vikings

On August 21, 2023, he was signed by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. He was waived on August 28. On September 9, 2023, Ta'amu was revealed to be claimed by the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

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.

DC Defenders (second stint)

Ta'amu re-signed with the Defenders on February 22, 2024. On January 14, 2025, Ta'amu re-signed with the Defenders for the 2025 UFL season. In week 7, Ta'amu completed 19–of–24 passes for 278 yards and 3 touchdowns. For his performance, he would be named the UFL offensive player of the week. Ta'amu would finish the season leading the league in passing touchdowns with 17. On June 14, 2025, Ta'amu was named the

UFL Championship Game The UFL championship game is the annual championship game for the United Football League (2024), UFL at the end of its season in order to determine its league winner for that season. It began in 2024 and has continued ever since, usually taking pl ...

MVP after he set a UFL record of 390 passing yards and had 5 total touchdowns. The Defenders offense would set a UFL record with 58 total points as they defeated the

Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in Metro Detroit. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played its home gam ...

58–34.

Career statistics

References

External links

Ole Miss Rebels bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ta'amu, Jordan 1997 births Living people American football quarterbacks Detroit Lions players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Minnesota Vikings players New Mexico Military Broncos football players Ole Miss Rebels football players St. Louis Battlehawks players People from Pearl City, Hawaii Players of American football from Honolulu County, Hawaii Kansas City Chiefs players American sportspeople of Samoan descent Washington Football Team players Carolina Panthers players Tampa Bay Bandits (2022) players DC Defenders players Pacific Islander American players of American football