XFL’s Walker, Ta’amu sign contracts to play NFL football in 2020
P.J. Walker, quarterback of the XFL’s Houston Roughnecks, and Jordan Ta’amu, St. Louis BattleHawks’ quarterback, signed contracts with the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively, to play football in the NFL this fall.
Walker, undoubted the XFL’s Most Valuable Player in the league’s inaugural season, will compete with Will Grier for the Panthers’ backup job at quarterback behind new starter Teddy Bridgewater. Earlier this year in the XFL, Walker threw 15 touchdown passes and ran for one touchdown in a COVID-19 shortened season of five games.
There were reports that Walker was also pursued by the Pittsburgh Steelers as a potential backup to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, but apparently the Panthers’ two-year, $1.565 million contract with a $150,000 signing bonus and $25,000 workout bonus was too attractive to ignore. Walker will be rejoining Matt Rhule , his former coach at Temple and current Carolina head coach.
Jordan Ta’amu was third in passing yards in the XFL with 1050 behind Walker (1338) and L.A.’s Josh Johnson (1076). He threw five touchdown passes and ran for a touchdown. Kansas City signed him to a one-year contract and he will compete with veteran Chad Henne for the backup spot at quarterback behind Patrick Mahomes.
Surprisingly, no NFL team has signed the XFL’s best wide receiver, Houston’s Cam Phillips, to a contract. According to various media reports, the XFL leader in targets (44), receptions (31), receiving yards (455), receiving touchdowns (9) and longest reception (84 YDs) has been approached by at least two NFL teams. The two teams with a greatest interest appear to be the Miami Dolphins and the Cincinnati Bengals but , as of March 31, Phillips remains unsigned.
One of the tallest players in professional football, tight end Donald Parham Jr., signed an undisclosed multi-year contract to play for the Los Angeles Chargers this season. Parham, who is 6-feet, 8-inches tall, caught 24 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns in the XFL.
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Most of the 24 former XFL players have signed for the NFL minimum one-year deal of $610,000 unless otherwise noted in this article. The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed the most former XFL players (9) to compete for spots on their team this fall.