ARIZONA — There’s a whole lot of gratitude when it comes to Arizona Cardinals linebacker Eku Leota.
Leota was one of Arizona’s surprise camp and preseason standouts after signing with the team’s practice squad last December. Often times, players like Leota are simply bodies to help fill out a 90-man preseason roster.
Yet Leota made play — after play – after play, making so much noise in both practice and games that the Cardinals couldn’t leave him off their roster.
“Man, a lot of just feeling grateful, and that hard work really does pay off at the end of the day. Just to have the right people here in my corner: teammates, coaches pushing me every day. I know it’s a competition, but the person I was competing with the most was myself every day, and that’s how I looked at it throughout the whole training camp,” said Leota.
“It’s just me being better every day and peaking at the right time, which is right now.”
The Cardinals ultimately parted ways with former second-round pick BJ Ojulari in the outside linebackers room, a bit of a surprising decision. Ojulari himself wasn’t the best version of himself, though Leota undoubtedly earned a spot.
“This is my fourth team. I’ve been in four different schemes, and just being able to take everything that I learned from other teams, but trying to put it in the right areas within this game,” said Leota.
“I feel like they let me play free from a schematic standpoint here, and being able to play within the scheme, but with my skill set as well. So, Just being able to get off the ball, and then using a lot of speed, and converting that speed into power.”
Often times, players on the practice squad aren’t viewed in the same light as those on the active 53-man roster. Leota says his prior experience was massive in helping him earn time on task to go out and do what he did this preseason — get after the quarterback.
“Oh, it helped out a lot. I know I was a P [practice] squad last year, but just being a scout team player, and I’m sure I’m going to be a scout team player again this year, which I need those reps. I like going against the ones, and those are my game reps throughout the week because I’m not going to get a lot of game reps, so I try to get my game reps in throughout the week,” he said.
“Special teams though is where I’m gonna get my reps. So that’s where I take pride in special teams.”
For a player such as Leota, special teams is mandatory if he’ll survive on the roster. However, his abilities as an outside linebacker could still impact a Cardinals room needing some sort of breakout at the spot opposite of Josh Sweat.
“Coach Nick [Rallis] our DC, he believes in my ability, and he told me to go play free, and I did. So I’m grateful for him, and to have a coach to believe in you, it helps a lot,” Leota said.
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