The New Orleans Saints announced on Tuesday that they signed QB Jake Haener back to the active roster and LB Eku Leota and WR Tommy Mellott to their practice squad.
Haener was waived by the team last week prior to the roster cut deadline but was added back to the practice squad shortly after. Leota and Mellott were two of the eight players that tried out for the team on Monday.
The signing of Haener back to the Saints 53-man roster likely will likely make him their emergency third quarterback behind
starting QB Spencer Rattler and backup Tyler Shough. He has filled the roster spot that was open due to the yesterday’s released of safety J.T Gray.
Leota comes to New Orleans after originally signing with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NFL Draft. In two seasons with the Panthers (2023-24) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (2024), he played 11 games with one start, recording eight tackles (seven solo), one sack, three stops for a loss, and one coverage stop.
Mellott joins the Saints after originally being selected by the Las Vegas Raiders in the sixth round (213th overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft. He spent four seasons as a quarterback for the Montana State Bobcats, playing in 39 games, completing 353-of-551 passes for 4,745 yards (64.1 pct.) with 39 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also rushed 419 times for 2,847 yards (6.8 avg.) with 38 touchdowns and caught 3 passes for 20 yards with one receiving TD. Mellott was named the Stats Perform Walter Payton FCS Offensive Player of the Year, Walter Camp FCS Player of the Year, FCS ADA Offensive Player of the Year and was also a unanimous first team All-American and Big Sky Offensive MVP.
