Tag: Jordan Ta’amu

DC Defenders defeat Houston Roughnecks for first UFL win

The Defenders pick up their first UFL win on Sunday.

The D.C. Defenders returned home to Audi Field on Sunday to host the Houston Roughnecks in UFL Week 2 action. After a disappointing Week 1 loss to the San Antonio Brahmas, the Defenders won their first UFL game with a 23-18 win over the Roughnecks.

Dating back to their time in the XFL, the Defenders have won 10 consecutive games at Audi Field.

Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu completed a 17-yard touchdown to wide receiver Ty Scott with around six minutes remaining to give D.C. a 21-18 lead. The Defenders went for the two-point conversion and succeeded when Ta’amu found tight end Alex Ellis to extend their lead to 23-18.

The Roughnecks had another opportunity to win the game, but the D.C. defense shut down Houston, allowing only 18 yards on six plays to ensure the victory.

Ta’amu completed 16 of 32 passes for 212 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Next up for the Defenders are the Arlington Renegades next week in Texas. It’s a rematch of the 2023 XFL championship, where the Renegades pulled off a big upset over the Defenders.

In case you were wondering, the beer snake is alive and well at Audi Field.

Former Panthers CB Corn Elder scores on 98-yard pick-six for UFL’s Roughnecks

We got a little former Panther-on-former Panther action in the UFL this weekend.

Matt Corral isn’t the only former Carolina Panther who’s made an early impression in the UFL.

On Sunday afternoon, the Houston Roughnecks met up with the DC Defenders as part of the league’s second week of action. Currently sitting in Houston’s secondary is a familiar name in cornerback Corn Elder, who sat on this pass from Defenders quarterback (and another ex-Panther) Jordan Ta’amu:

Elder, who brought the interception back for the game’s first points, spoke about the wild 98-yard return on the Roughnecks sideline shortly after:

Now 29 years old, Elder was selected by the Panthers in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL draft. The Murfreesboro, Tenn. native came into the league as a first-team All-ACC selection from the University of Miami (Fla.), where he stayed for four seasons.

He ultimately racked up three stints with the Panthers up until 2021. Elder appeared in 30 games for Carolina, totaling 43 combined tackles, a forced fumble and three passes defensed.

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Defenders lose to Brahmas in UFL debut

The Defenders drop their UFL opener.

The D.C. Defenders were one of the XFL’s top teams when it was revealed the XFL and USFL would merge in 2024 into a new league called the United Football League (UFL).

The Defenders, the Arlington Renegades, the St. Louis Battlehawks, the San Antonio Brahmas, and the Houston Roughnecks are five of the eight teams in the UFL that transferred over from the XFL.

On Saturday, the UFL debuted with two games. On Sunday, there were two mores, one of which featured the Defenders against the Brahmas. D.C. was 9-1 in 2023 — the XFL’s final season — before losing in the championship game.

Unfortunately for the Defenders, this season didn’t begin as well as their final XFL season, as San Antonio dominated D.C. 27-12 in a battle of former XFL teams.

San Antonio quarterback Chase Garbers was excellent, completing 19 of 25 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns in the win. The University of California graduate spent parts of two seasons with the Raiders on their practice squad and offseason roster.

For the Defenders, quarterback Jordan Ta’amu returned for another year. Ta’amu completed 25 of 45 passes for 235 yards and an interception. He was with D.C. last season and has had multiple NFL stints on offseason rosters.

The Defenders did not score a touchdown, and kicker Matt McCrane connected on four field goals in the loss. McCrane booted field goals of 50, 34, 48 and 28 yards.

The Defenders return home to Audi Field next week and host the Roughnecks in another battle of former XFL teams. The Roughnecks also dropped their UFL debut.

Vikings officially sign QB Jordan Ta’amu, waive OLB Curtis Weaver

The Vikings have started making roster moves

The Vikings announced that they have officially signed QB Jordan Ta’amu. In turn, they waived OLB Curtis Weaver.

A standout at Boise State, Weaver was a fifth-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2020. He was waived shortly after and played for the Cleveland Browns. He only appeared in one game across two seasons for the Browns accruing just one tackle.

Weaver was a long shot to make the roster with so many talented players ahead of him and the move wasn’t a surprise.

Ta’amu being signed so late in camp says that the Vikings might not be playing Nick Mullens in the preseason finale, as a lot of players won’t be playing in the finale.

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Report: Vikings sign XFL QB Jordan Ta’amu

Ta’amu became the third D.C. Defenders offensive player to sign with the Minnesota Vikings

According to the official XFL Twitter/X account, the Minnesota Vikings have signed D.C. Defender and 2023 XFL Offensive Player of the Year Jordan Ta’amu to a contract.

In the XFL last season, Ta’amu led the Defenders to a 9-1 record and an appearance in the 2023 XFL Championship Game. An alumnus of Ole Miss, Ta’Amu threw for 1,894 passing yards and 14 touchdowns on 62.4% completions and 298 rushing yards en route to saind 9-1 record.

Ta’amu has become a spring league veteran having played for the XFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks in 2020 and the USFL’s Tampa Bay Bandits in 2022.

Ta’amu is the third offensive player the Vikings have signed, joining running back Abram Smith and wide receiver Lucky Jackson.

This is likely a week three camp arm signing, but Ta’amu does have an intriguing skill set.

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Report: Vikings working out XFL QB Jordan Ta’amu

With three quarterbacks on the roster, the Minnesota Vikings aren’t done looking at the position.

The Minnesota Vikings are bringing in a quarterback for a workout. According to The Score’s Jordan Schultz, the Minnesota Vikings are bringing in XFL quarterback Jordan Ta’amu for a workout. Last season, he was the starting quarterback for the D.C. Defenders and won XFL player of the year honors.

Going into mandatory minicamp, the Vikings currently have three quarterbacks on the roster in Kirk Cousins, Nick Mullens and fifth-round pick Jaren Hall. When training camp hits, it’s a good thing to have a fourth quarterback around during practices. It will allow receivers to get extra reps which helps the coaching staff make tough decisions.

Ta’amu had a really solid season for the XFL runner-up Defenders. Going 9-1 in the regular season, Ta’amu completed 62.6% of his passes for 1,878 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions along with 301 yards and three touchdowns on 67 carries.

In his professional career, Ta’amu has spent time with the AAF, USFL and XFL while also spending some time with the Kansas City Chiefs.

D.C. Defenders come up short in the XFL championship game

The Defenders finish the year with a 10-2 record, and had fans in D.C. excited about pro football again.

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Defeating the same team back-to-back in a period of a few weeks can be a difficult task in football. The D.C. Defenders learned this hard lesson Saturday night in the XFL championship, falling to the Arlington Renegades 35-26. Arlington is the first XFL champion since 2001 — the league’s first season in existence.

D.C. and Arlington last met in Week 9 — the second-to-last game of the regular season — and the Defenders walked away with a hard-fought 28-26 overtime win.

In Saturday’s XFL championship played in San Antonio, the Renegades jumped out to a 14-0 lead over D.C. and never looked back. Anytime the Defenders looked like they were about to mount a rally, Arlington responded with either a touchdown or a turnover. D.C. quarterback Jordan Ta’amu, the XFL’s offensive player of the year in 2023, completed 16 of 30 passing attempts for 245 yards and two touchdowns. However, it was his three interceptions that doomed the Defenders.

Meanwhile, his counterpart, Arlington’s Luis Perez, completed 26 of 36 attempts for 288 yards and three touchdowns. Perez was named the MVP of the championship game.

Arlington finished the XFL season 6-6, while the Defenders lost only their second game and finished the year with a 10-2 record.

Overall, it was a successful season for the Defenders, who brought excitement back to the nation’s capital. Audi Field was the best atmosphere in the league, and it was praised by XFL co-owner Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on multiple occasions. Johnson and fellow owner, Dany Garcia, were in town to present the trophy to the Renegades.

Congrats to the Defenders on a fun and successful season and we look forward to 2024.

Defenders will play for XFL championship

A pro football team in D.C. will play for a championship for the first time in 30 years.

The D.C. Defenders will play in the XFL championship on May 13 after defeating the Seattle Sea Dragons 37-21 to claim the North Division championship.

It was DC’s third win over Seattle this season.

It wasn’t easy for the Defenders, who got off to a slow start, and the game was tied 9-9, heading into halftime.

However, the second half was a story for DC. The Defenders jumped on the Sea Dragons, scoring 21 consecutive points to take a 30-9 lead over Seattle. Mistakes were to blame for the Sea Dragons, and the Defenders made them pay for it.

The XFL’s leading rusher, Abram Smith, scored first in the second half for the Defenders. DC quarterback Jordan Ta’amu followed that up by connecting with Ethan Wolf on a 26-yard touchdown pass to go up 23-9 in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter began much the same way, with Cam’Ron Harris scoring from one yard out to increase the DC lead to 30-9.

Seattle didn’t quit, scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but it was too little, too late for the Sea Dragons.

Ta’amu passed for 258 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Now, the Defenders will play the Arlington Renegades in the XFL championship game. The Alamodome in San Antonio will host the game.

XFL owner Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was paying attention to the playoff action Sunday.

For the first time in 30 years, a Washington, D.C. professional football team will play for a championship.

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DC Defenders improve to 8-1 after overtime win over Arlington

The Defenders are 8-1 and finish the regular season next week.

The D.C. Defenders improved to 8-1 Sunday after a narrow 28-26 overtime win over the Arlington Renegades in front of a sold-out crowd at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.

With the win, the Defenders clinched a home playoff game in two weeks for the North Division championship.

D.C. jumped on the Renegades early as quarterback Jordan Ta’amu threw two touchdown passes and D’Eriq King also had one to give the Defenders a 20-9 halftime lead.

D.C. struck again in the third quarter when former Washington Redskins and longtime NFL safety, D.J. Swearinger intercepted Arlington quarterback Luis Perez and returned it 62 yards for a touchdown. At this point, the Defenders led 26-9.

The sold-out crowd went wild when Swearinger took it to the house.

While the two teams went scoreless for the remainder of the third quarter, the Renegades made a furious fourth-quarter comeback after a pair of De’Veon Smith touchdown runs and a field goal to suddenly tie the game on a Taylor Russolino 27-yard field goal with five seconds remaining.

The game went into overtime where Ta’amu found Jake Hammond for the score and another Defenders’ win.

Ta’amu completed 14 of 20 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns and one interception. King completed six of nine passes for 76 yards with a touchdown and interception.

Swearinger finished the game second on the team in tackles with seven in his second XFL game.

Next up for D.C. is a trip to San Antonio to close out the regular season before returning home in two weeks to host either St. Louis or Seattle for the North Division championship.

D.C. Defenders improve to 5-0 with win over St. Louis

D.C.’s other professional football team remains undefeated after winning over St. Louis.

Football is alive and well in the nation’s capital. The XFL’s D.C. Defenders were 4-0 and headed to The Dome at America’s Center Saturday to play the St. Louis Battlehawks in a game to determine first place in the XFL’s North division standings.

After a sluggish start in the first quarter, the Defenders picked things up in the second quarter to go on to defeat the Battlehawks 28-20 and move to 5-0 on the season. D.C. is the XFL’s lone remaining undefeated team. The Houston Roughnecks were 4-0 until Thursday’s loss to the Seattle Sea Dragons.

St. Louis jumped on the scoreboard first when kicker Donny Hageman connected on a 36-yard field goal around six minutes into the second quarter.

That apparently caused the D.C. offense to wake up.

D.C. running back Abram Smith took the handoff and went 62 yards for the touchdown to give the Defenders a 6-3. lead. Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu found Josh Hammond on the 2-point conversion to extend the lead to 8-3.

Just before halftime, Smith again found paydirt, scoring from five yards out to extend the lead to 14-3, where it stood at halftime.

The third quarter began much like the second when Hageman made another field goal to make it a one-score game. How did D.C. answer? With Smith, of course. Smith takes the D’Eriq King handoff and goes untouched for a 70-yard touchdown.

The 2-point conversion was again no good, and the Defenders held a 20-6 lead.

The Battlehawks finally found the end zone when quarterback A.J. McCarron found wide receiver George Campbell for a five-yard touchdown. The Battlehawks failed to convert on the 2-pointer.

With it a one-score game, how would the Defenders answer?

King would score from 10 yards out, and Ta’amu would be successful on the 2-point conversion to give D.C. a 28-12 lead. McCarron led St. Louis on another touchdown drive, but it wasn’t enough, giving the Defenders a season sweep of the Battlehawks.

Next up for the Defenders are the aforementioned Roughnecks in what should be an outstanding game.

Smith had arguably the best individual performance in the XFL this season, rushing for 218 yards and three touchdowns.