Ex-Lions quarterbacks ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in passing yards in USFL

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - MAY 13: Jordan Ta'amu #10 of Tampa Bay Bandits passes the ball in the first quarter of the game against the Michigan Panthers at Protective Stadium on May 13, 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama. (Photo by Tom Pennington/USFL/Getty Images)
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - MAY 13: Jordan Ta'amu #10 of Tampa Bay Bandits passes the ball in the first quarter of the game against the Michigan Panthers at Protective Stadium on May 13, 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama. (Photo by Tom Pennington/USFL/Getty Images)

Former Lions quarterbacks Kyle Sloter and Jordan Ta’amu are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in passing yards as the USFL reaches its midseason mark.

There some former Detroit Lions in the USFL, and two former Lions signal callers are atop the passing yardage rankings.

Kyle Sloter, the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Breakers (3-2), has thrown for a league-high 1,226 yards. He is the only quarterback in the league that has thrown for more than 1,000 yards thus far.

Jordan Ta’amu, starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Bandits, is second in the USFL with 834 passing yards. He also has 143 rushing yards, good for 15th in the league.

Turnovers have created the biggest havoc for Sloter in the first half of the USFL season, as he has thrown seven interceptions to go with his seven touchdown passes. In the last two games, he has thrown three interceptions (a Week 4 win over Houston) and two interceptions (a Week 5 loss to New Jersey) respectively.

In Week 6 Sloter and the Breakers (3-2) play the Pittsburgh Maulers (1-4) in a noon ET game on Sunday, May 22. The game will be broadcast on FS1.

Jordan Ta’amu improving with each week in USFL

Ta’amu has shown marked improvement each week of the USFL season. Though Tampa Bay won their season opener against Pittsburgh, Ta’amu threw two interceptions and ran once for seven yards. The Bandits’ offense seemed out of sync in the first two games, scoring a combined total of 20 points.

Over the last three weeks, Ta’amu has thrown four touchdown passes, passed for 587 yards and rushed for 91 yards. His quarterback rating for Week 5’s win over Michigan was 117.9.

In Week 6 the Bandits (3-2) and Ta’amu will face the Philadelphia Stars (2-3) in a 1 p.m. ET game on Saturday, May 21. That game will air on NBC.

Sloter and Ta’amu played against each other back in Week 2 of the USFL schedule, a game won by Sloter and New Orleans 34-3.

Schedule