Jordan Ta'amu works out for Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings brought in quarterback Jordan Ta’amu for a workout on Friday, theScore’s Jordan Schultz reported. He currently plays for the XFL’s D.C. Defenders, but starred at Ole Miss from 2017-18.

Ta’amu started his career as the backup to Shea Patterson, but jumped into the starting role after Patterson transferred to Michigan. In the 12 games he played in 2018, he threw for 3,918 yards and 19 touchdowns as Ole Miss finished 5-7. After going undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft, Ta’amu signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent.

Although he’s bounced around some practice squads, Ta’amu still has never made a regular season roster in the NFL. In addition to the Texans’ practice squad, he has had stints with the Detroit Lions — twice — the Kansas City Chiefs, the Washington Commanders and the Carolina Panthers.

He doesn’t just have experience on NFL practice squads, though. Ta’amu also played for the St. Louis BattleHawks during the 2020 XFL season before moving to the USFL to play for the Tampa Bay Bandits in 2022. He currently plays for the D.C. Defenders, where he threw for 1,894 yards and 14 touchdowns during the 2023 season.

Minnesota appears set to have Kirk Cousins as its starter again this coming season and has two backups on the roster in Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall, who was the Vikings’ fifth-round draft pick this year out of BYU.

However, the NFL approved a new rule that allows teams to carry two backup quarterbacks on the active roster, meaning Minnesota could be looking for another backup.

That’s not the only roster question the Vikings have, though. They’re still looking for a resolution to the Dalvin Cook situation. The star running back has apparently been on the market for some time, but Minnesota hasn’t found a trade partner for him even though ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported the Vikings will eventually trade or release him.

However, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported a resolution could come to the situation by week’s end. That’s because after June 1, the Vikings have the option to split the $6.2 million cap acceleration over two years, $3.1 million in 2023 and $3.1 million in 2024.

Any team that acquires Cook will take on an $11 million cap hit in 2023 barring a restructured deal. A restructure of Cook’s deal would likely convert most of his salary into a signing bonus that would be spread out over the three remaining years of his deal.

On3’s Nick Geddes contributed to this report.