After waiting most of his 22 years to fulfill a football dream, what was another 24 hours?

A day after being waived by the Kansas City Chiefs, quarterback Jordan Ta‘amu was signed to the defending Super Bowl champs’ practice squad.

“I’m excited,” the Pearl City High alumnus said, and ready “to earn my way up.”

Three others players with Hawaii ties also found employment on NFL practice squads: former University of Hawaii receiver JoJo Ward with the Arizona Cardinals, nose tackle Breiden Fehoko (Farrington High) with the Los Angeles Chargers, and safety Trayvon Henderson (UH) with the Cincinnati Bengals.

On Saturday, Ta‘amu was told he was being cut but with the Chiefs’ hope he would be re-signed to the practice squad. “They gave me a positive output right there,” Ta‘amu said. “They said as soon as I cleared waivers, they were going to pick me up. That’s exactly what they did.”

The designation means Ta‘amu will earn a paycheck ($8,400 per week) and opportunity to study under quarterback Patrick Mahomes. “It’s awesome to be behind him and watch how he plays the game and how he approaches the line and how he’s just a great leader in general,” Ta‘amu said. “Being in that (quarterback) room with him is pretty awesome.”

Ta‘amu was born and reared in Pearl City. “Right in the red dirt,” he mused. “I had short-term goals and long-term goals. I’ve wanted to play in the NFL since I was little. I knew I needed to get out and go to a D-I school to get a chance for that to happen. I just needed to have one person believe in me. That’s what happened.”

After two years at New Mexico Military Institute, Ta‘amu joined Mississippi. In 2019, he signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent. He was one of the final cuts. This past spring, he was the starting quarterback for the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL. But the pandemic abbreviated the XFL season to five weeks. In April, Ta‘amu signed with the Chiefs.

This year, it was decided there would be no preseason games. The Chiefs apparently believed Ta‘amu had shown enough to keep him around. Mahomes and Chad Henne are the only quarterbacks on the 53-player active roster. Matt Moore joins Ta‘amu on the practice squad, which was expanded to 16 players this year.

“Never give up, never lose faith,” Ta‘amu said of his family’s motto. “What carried me through was God and the faith. And my parents and friends and family always pushing me, always saying I can do it. That just lit a fire inside me to do what I can do. … Each time there’s an obstacle, I’m ready for the challenge.”