Lions Cut Five Players

The Detroit Lions announced that they’ve cut five players on Monday, including WR Darius Jennings, NT P.J. Johnson, RB Javon Leake, LB Robert McCray, and QB Jordan Ta’amu.

The #Lions announced today the following roster moves:

Released – WR Darius Jennings

Waived – NT P.J. Johnson, RB Javon Leake, OLB Robert McCray, QB Jordan Ta’amu.

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) August 23, 2021

Ta’amu, 23, wound up going undrafted out of Ole Miss in 2019. He took part in the Raiders’ rookie minicamp but wasn’t signed to a contract afterward.

Ta’amu caught on with the Texans during training camp in August of 2019 but was waived coming out of the preseason. He was allocated to the St. Louis Battlehawks during the XFL’s expansion draft and won the competition for the starting job. 

After the league folded, Ta’amu caught on with the Chiefs last year and had a brief stint with the Lions before returning to the Chiefs on a futures contract this past January. 

Ta’Amu was unfortunately waived by the Chiefs this past May. He returned to the Lions a few weeks ago. 

In five games for the Battlehawks, Ta’amu completed 97 of 134 passing attempts (72.7 percent) for 1,050 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed 41 times for 217 yards and one touchdown. 

During his two years at Ole Miss, Ta’amu threw for 5,600 yards while completing 64.5 percent of his passes to go along with 30 touchdowns and 12 interceptions over the course of 19 games. He also rushed for 507 yards and 10 touchdowns.