Steelers Now
A pair of former Pittsburgh Steelers have been swapped in and out on the New Orleans Saints.
The New Orleans Saints have signed former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Evan Hull to their 53-man roster and released former Steelers linebacker Eku Leota, according to Aaron Wilson of Houston’s KPRC2.
Hull, 25, signed to the Saints practice squad on Oct. 29 and to their active roster on Nov. 25. He didn’t record a statistic with New Orleans, though.
Hull began his career as a fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. However, he suffered a torn meniscus and MCL during his first career rush attempt, ending his 2023 season.
On Jan. 14, 2025, Hull signed a reserve/future contract with the Steelers and played in all three of their preseason games. He rushed for just 33 yards on 11 carries and failed to find the end zone. He was then released by Pittsburgh on Aug. 22 and found another opportunity with the Saints.
Hull led all FBS running backs with 54 receptions and was second amongst all Big Ten receivers with 483 yards after the catch in his final season at Northwestern in 2022. He finished the season with 913 rushing yards and a career-best 546 receiving yards.
He was also only the 16th player since 2000 to average over 75 rushing yards and 45 receiving yards a game over an entire season, most recently done by Travis Etienne and Saquon Barkley.
Leota, 26, spent a much larger portion of his NFL career with the Steelers, joining the team on Oct. 1, 2024 and signing a reserve/future contract for the 2025 season.
He followed it up with a strong preseason, recording seven total tackles (five solos) and a forced fumble. However, Pittsburgh waived him as part of its final cuts since the team was already loaded at the position with T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig and rookie Jack Sawyer.
Leota began his career as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and caught on with the Carolina Panthers. In Carolina, he played in eight games in 2023 and two more in 2024. In those 10 games, he played 133 snaps of defense and 113 on special teams.
Leota suffered a pectoral injury that cost him most of his senior season at Auburn in 2022 and also prevented him from participating in most of the pre-draft testing process. His best collegiate season statistically came in 2021, when he recorded 23 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
Before joining Auburn, Leota played three seasons at Northwestern, where he was an All-Big Ten selection in 2020. Leota was born in Western Samoa and grew up in Asheville, North Carolina.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Saints Swap Pair of Former Steelers
