Taki Taimani
American football player (born 1999)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sam "Taki" Taimani (born October 6, 1999)[1] is an American professional football nose tackle. He played college football for the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies.
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
| Profile | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Nose tackle | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born | October 6, 1999 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. | ||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||
| Listed weight | 324 lb (147 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school | East (Salt Lake City, Utah) | ||||
| College | Washington (2018–2021) Oregon (2022–2023) | ||||
| NFL draft | 2024: undrafted | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 2, 2026 | |||||
| |||||
Early life
Taimani attended East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was rated as a four-star recruit and committed to play college football for the Washington Huskies.[2]
College career
Washington
In week 3 of the 2020 season, Taimani notched five tackles in a win over Utah.[3] In week 5 of the 2021 season, in a loss to Oregon State, he recovered a fumble which he returned 13 yards inside the Beavers 10-yard line.[4] In week 10 of the 2021 season, Taimani made the start where he tallied four tackles in a loss against Oregon.[5]
In his first four seasons at Washington from 2018 to 2021 Taimani totaled 71 tackles with three and a half being for a loss, two pass deflections, and a fumble recovery.[6] After the 2021 season, he entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal.[7]
Oregon
Taimani transferred to play for the Oregon Ducks.[8] In his final two seasons with Oregon in 2022 and 2023, he recorded 36 tackles with two and a half being for a loss, a pass deflection, and a fumble recovery.[9][10]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1+1⁄2 in (1.87 m) | 309 lb (140 kg) | 31+7⁄8 in (0.81 m) | 10+3⁄4 in (0.27 m) | 6 ft 5+1⁄2 in (1.97 m) | 5.33 s | 1.84 s | 3.04 s | 5.03 s | 7.95 s | 25 in (0.64 m) | 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) | 19 reps |
| All values from Pro Day[11][12] | ||||||||||||
After not being selected in the 2024 NFL draft, Taimani signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent.[13] He was also selected by the Arlington Renegades in the 7th round of the 2024 UFL draft on July 17, 2024.[14] Taimani made the Vikings' initial 53-man roster.[15]
On August 26, 2025, Taimani was waived by the Vikings as part of final roster cuts and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[16][17] On January 2, 2026, Taimani was signed to the active roster.[18]
On August 24, 2026, Taimani was waived with an injury designation and reverted to injured reserve the next day.[19][20] On September 22, he was waived.[21]