With both of their backup quarterbacks nursing injuries, the Detroit Lions added a fourth signal caller to their roster Tuesday, signing Jordan Ta’amu.
Ta’amu appeared briefly on the Lions practice squad last winter, and last played in a game with the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL in the spring of 2020.
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Backup quarterback Tim Boyle suffered an ankle injury in last week’s preseason-opening loss to the Buffalo Bills and did not practice Monday, though Lions coach Dan Campbell said Boyle could play in Saturday’s exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
No. 3 quarterback David Blough also is nursing a shoulder injury.
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“I do think (Boyle will) be able to play this weekend, but we don’t know that for sure,” Campbell said. “And Blough’s got a little bit of a shoulder that’s been bothering him. Nothing major, but enough to where pretty soon you start putting all those throws on (Jared) Goff, cause that’s who’s going to end up taking most of it. That’s not what we want either, so we just felt we needed to make that move now.”
Goff, in his first season as Lions starter, played one quarter against the Bills, completing 7 of 9 passes for 56 yards. He could be in line for more playing time this week against the Steelers.
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Ta’amu threw for 1,050 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions and ran for another 217 yards in five XFL games in 2020.
He played collegiately at Ole Miss and signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2019.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.