After entering the NFL as an undrafted rookie in 2023, linebacker Eku Leota has played in 11 games over the past two seasons. And the former Auburn standout returned to the NFL on Tuesday, when the New Orleans Saints signed him for their practice squad.
Leota was available after the Pittsburgh Steelers waived him last week.
Leota played in eight games as a rookie with the Carolina Panthers in 2023. After Leota played in the Panthers’ first two games of 2024 and recorded his first NFL sack and three tackles for loss in the season-opener, Carolina waived Leota.
Leota joined Pittsburgh’s practice squad one week later and spent the rest of the 2024 season there, playing in one game.
Each NFL team can have a practice squad of 16 players. Members of the practice squad do everything the players on the active roster do except play in games. But two practice-squad members can be elevated to active status for each game, although no player can be elevated from the practice squad more than three times in a season.
New Orleans hasn’t had an Auburn alumnus play in a regular-season game in the past three seasons. The former Tigers who played most recently for the Saints are defensive tackle Montravius Adams in five games and kicker Cody Parkey in one game in the 2021 campaign.
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.