Eku Leota

Last updated

Eku Leota
No. 54 – Arizona Cardinals
Position Linebacker
Roster status Practice squad
Personal information
Born (1999-05-11) May 11, 1999 (age 26)
Falefā, Samoa
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight257 lb (117 kg)
Career information
High school Asheville
College Northwestern (2018–2020)
Auburn (2021–2022)
NFL draft 2023: undrafted
Career history
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Awards and highlights
Career NFL statistics as of 2025
Total tackles 10
Sacks 1
Stats at Pro Football Reference   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Eku Leota (born May 11, 1999) is an Samoan-American professional football linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played for the Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and New Orleans Saints. He played college football for the Northwestern Wildcats before transferring to Auburn Tigers.

Contents

Early life

Leota was born in Falefā, Samoa and moved to Asheville, North Carolina at age 7. [1] He attended Asheville High School. [2]

College career

Leota began his college football career at Northwestern and redshirted his true freshman season. [3] He had 2.5 sacks as a redshirt freshman. Leota was named third-team All-Big Ten Conference during his redshirt sophomore season. [4] He entered the NCAA transfer portal at the end of the regular season. [5]

Leota ultimately transferred to Auburn. [6] He made 23 tackles with ten tackles for loss and seven sacks in his first season with the team. [7] Leota suffered a season-ending pectoral injury in the fifth game of the Tigers' 2022 season. [8]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span
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 [9] [10]

Carolina Panthers

Leota was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2023. [11] On August 29, he was waived for final roster cuts, but signed to the Panthers' practice squad the following day. [12] [13] Leota was promoted to the active roster on November 13. [14]

On September 17, 2024, Leota was waived by the Panthers, and re-signed to the practice squad. [15] He was then released again on September 24. [16]

Pittsburgh Steelers

On October 1, 2024, Leota was signed to the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad. [17] He signed a reserve/future contract with Pittsburgh on January 14, 2025. [18] On August 26, Leota was waived by the Steelers as part of final roster cuts. [19]

New Orleans Saints

On September 2, 2025, Leota was signed to the New Orleans Saints practice squad. [20] He made three appearances for New Orleans as a practice squad elevation, recording one tackle. On November 25, Leota was waived by the Saints. [21]

Arizona Cardinals

On December 2, 2025, Leota was signed to the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad. [22]

References

  1. ↑ Hill, Kassidy (September 12, 2024). "The mana of Eku: With raw talent and hidden humor, Eku Leota is establishing his place". Carolina Panthers. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  2. ↑ Womack, Chris (September 4, 2022). ""War Eku"; Former Asheville star chasing future while honoring past at Auburn". WLOS.com. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  3. ↑ Durando, Bennett (October 14, 2021). "Auburn football's Eku Leota driven by hunger to compete and eat". Montgomery Advertiser . Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  4. ↑ Han, Giana (March 14, 2021). "From Wildcat to Tiger, Eku Leota is dangerous to quarterbacks across conferences". AL.com . Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  5. ↑ Assimakopoulos, Lia (December 21, 2020). "Northwestern WR Kyric McGowan and DL Eku Leota enter the transfer portal". InsideNU.com. SB Nation . Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  6. ↑ Green, Tom (October 5, 2021). "Northwestern transfer Eku Leota making most of new opportunity at Auburn, in SEC". AL.com . Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  7. ↑ Green, Tom (January 11, 2022). "Auburn edge defender Eku Leota returning for senior season". AL.com . Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Bryan Harsin says Auburn football edge rusher Eku Leota likely out for season". Montgomery Advertiser . October 3, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Eku Leota Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  10. ↑ "2023 NFL Draft Scout Eku Leota College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  11. ↑ Gantt, Darin (April 29, 2023). "Panthers agree to terms with undrafted rookies". Panthers.com.
  12. ↑ Gantt, Darin (August 29, 2023). "Panthers make moves en route to 53-man roster limit". Panthers.com. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  13. ↑ Gantt, Darin (August 30, 2023). "Panthers add 11 players to the practice squad". Panthers.com. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  14. ↑ Gantt, Darin (November 13, 2023). "Jaycee Horn, Ian Thomas designated to return from IR". Panthers.com. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  15. ↑ Gantt, Darin. "Panthers make three moves". panthers.com. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  16. ↑ Rizzutti, Anthony (September 24, 2024). "Panthers announce flurry of moves as Adam Thielen, Jordan Fuller head to IR". Panthers Wire. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Steelers make multiple roster moves". Steelers.com. October 1, 2024.
  18. ↑ Varley, Teresa (January 14, 2025). "Steelers sign 17 to Reserve/Future contracts". Steelers.com.
  19. ↑ Varley, Teresa. "Steelers make moves to get to 53-man roster". steelers.com. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  20. ↑ Inabinett, Mark (September 3, 2025). "New Orleans Saints sign former Auburn linebacker". al.com. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Saints announce roster moves". Neworleanssaints.com. November 25, 2025. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  22. ↑ Urban, Darren (December 2, 2025). "Cardinals Sign Cory Kiner For Offensive Backfield". AZCardinals.com.
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