No. 55 – New Orleans Saints | |||||||
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Position: | Linebacker | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Asheville, North Carolina, U.S. | May 11, 1999||||||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 252 lb (114 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Asheville | ||||||
College: | Northwestern (2018–2020) Auburn (2021–2022) | ||||||
NFL draft: | 2023: undrafted | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
Roster status: | Practice squad | ||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Eku Leota (born May 11, 1999) is an American professional football linebacker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Northwestern Wildcats before transferring to Auburn Tigers.
Leota grew up in Asheville, North Carolina and attended Asheville High School. [1]
Leota began his college football career at Northwestern and redshirted his true freshman season. [2] He had 2.5 sacks as a redshirt freshman. Leota was named third-team All-Big Ten Conference during his redshirt sophomore season. [3] He entered the NCAA transfer portal at the end of the regular season. [4]
Leota ultimately transferred to Auburn. [5] He made 23 tackles with ten tackles for loss and seven sacks in his first season with the team. [6] Leota suffered a season-ending pectoral injury in the fifth game of the Tigers' 2022 season. [7]
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | |||||||||
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6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 252 lb (114 kg) | 33+1⁄2 in (0.85 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | |||||||||
All values from NFL Combine [8] [9] |
Leota was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2023. [10] On August 29, 2023, he was waived for final roster cuts, but signed to the Panthers' practice squad the following day. [11] [12] He was promoted to the active roster on November 13, 2023. [13]
On September 17, 2024, Leota was waived by the Panthers, and re-signed to the practice squad. [14] He was then released again on September 24. [15]
On October 1, 2024, Leota was signed to the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad. [16] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 14, 2025. [17]
On August 26, 2025, Leota was waived by the Steelers as part of final roster cuts. [18]
On September 2, 2025, Leota was signed to the New Orleans Saints practice squad. [19]