Much of the success the D.C. Defenders had on offense in 2023 came via the legs of RB Abram Smith. Equally important, though, were the contributions of the team’s quarterback, Jordan Ta’amu. Ta’amu won the XFL’s Offensive Player of the Year Award after finishing second in the league in QB Rating, while leading the league in yards per attempt. He threw 14 touchdown passes to just three interceptions in guiding the Defenders to a 9-1 regular season record and a berth in the XFL Championship.
All eyes were on Ta’amu this off-season. He stayed mum about his 2024 plans after a brief stint with the Minnesota Vikings last summer. It wasn’t until the eve of UFL training camp when the league made it official, announcing Ta’amu’s return along with that of Luis Perez, whose Arlington Renegades bested Ta’amu’s Defenders in the title game.
There was real doubt about whether Ta’amu would continue his spring football career. It began in 2020, when Ta’amu started all five games for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the revived XFL, completing over 70% of his passes with five touchdowns and two interceptions. While the league was reorganizing under new management, Ta’amu jumped to the USFL for the 2022 season with the Tampa Bay Bandits. The team struggled to a 4-6 record and Ta’amu had what would be considered a down year for him: He completed just 57% of his passes, throwing for 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
He resurfaced with the XFL in its 2023 re-relaunch, playing in an offense better suited to take advantage of his unique skills. All the while, Ta’amu continued pursuing his NFL dreams. From 2020 to 2023, Ta’amu was a part of five different NFL teams (including two teams twice). To spring football fans, Ta’amu was perceived as never getting a fair shake in the NFL. And it’s not just fans who think that.
“He’s a guy that we all really believe should’ve gotten an opportunity to stick in the NFL,” Defenders Head Coach Reggie Barlow told the media on Tuesday. “Great guy, great character. Playmaker. Can make all the throws. Obviously he did an outstanding job for us last year.”
Heading into 2024, there was speculation about what Ta’amu’s plans would be. Would he rejoin the Defenders? Would he seek out another professional football league? Would he hang up his cleats altogether? Ta’amu had options. “There were teams in other leagues that were extremely interested in him,” Barlow said. “Actually might’ve been offering a little bit more of an opportunity than we were.” It’s not difficult to read “opportunity” as “money,” given the reported reduction in quarterback salaries featured in the UFL compared to what was offered in the XFL.
Putting two and two together, the “other leagues” that Barlow referred to would most likely be the CFL. In September, Ta’amu was placed on the negotiation list of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. It makes the player’s rights exclusive to that team should they choose to play in the CFL. In order to make a team’s negotiation list, there must be significant interest in a player from that team.
As UFL franchises began to build their rosters for 2024, a close eye was kept on what D.C. would do at the quarterback spot. They first added former Orlando Guardian Deondre Francois in the dispersal draft. Then, with their first pick in the super dispersal draft, they landed Jalan McClendon, late of the Vegas Vipers. Spending that high of a pick on a QB was a signal to some that D.C. was preparing itself for a post-Ta’amu world.
Barlow instead suggested the additions of Francois and McClendon were to replace the production of backup D’Eriq King, who took a job as quarterbacks coach at his alma mater, Southern Methodist University. “This was a guy that did some outstanding things for us last year,” Barlow said of King. “We wanted somebody with some experience, somebody that kinda fit what we do on offense. Francois and Jalen, both of those guys are athletic, talented guys.”
As for Ta’amu, Barlow never stopped working to try to bring his star QB back into the fold. “Throughout the process we had been in contact with him, communicated with him, just to let him know that we really wanted him back to be a part of our team. It’s a business, guys have to look out for themselves. Coach (Fred) Kaiss, our offensive coordinator, coach Shannon Harris, our quarterbacks coach, those guys did a great job of staying in contact with Ta’amu throughout this off-season and were able to get it worked out.”
The return of Ta’amu has become even more critical with the loss of RB Abram Smith for the year due to a torn ACL. Having to replace both Smith and Ta’amu would’ve been a tall order for this coaching staff. With Ta’amu leading the way, it’s likely D.C. will have a chance no matter who is running the ball.
