NEW ORLEANS —The New Orleans Saints have agreed to terms with the following players on practice squad contracts it was announced by Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis: RB Alex Armah Jr., WR Kawaan Baker, T Caleb Benenoch, DT Josiah Bronson Jr., DT Albert Huggins, LB Wynton McManis, DB Bryan Mills, DB KeiVarae Russell, WR Kevin White, WR Easop Winston Jr. and TE Ethan Wolf.
· Armah Jr., 6-2, 255, signed with New Orleans as an unrestricted free agent after spending his first four NFL seasons with the Carolina Panthers. For his career, Armah has appeared in 57 games, with four starts rushing for 35 yards on 21 carries with three touchdowns. The Lawrenceville, Ga. native has also recorded eight receptions for 29 yards and six special teams tackles. In 2020, he appeared in all 16 contests with one start posting six rushes for nine yards and had a career-high five receptions for 18 yards.
· Baker, 6-1, 215, was New Orleans’ seventh round selection (255th overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft out of South Alabama. In his college career, the Atlanta, Ga. native started 35-of-45 games for the Jaguars and caught 126 passes for 1,829 yards (14.5 avg.) with 16 touchdowns. In his senior season, Baker posted career-high totals with 51 catches for 659 yards and eight touchdowns to be selected second-team all-Sun Belt Conference. In addition, Baker returned 16 kickoffs for 264 yards and added 42 yards on the ground to finish second on the team with career-best 965 all-purpose yards.
· Benenoch, 6-5, 305 was originally selected in the fifth round (148th overall) by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2016 NFL Draft. In four seasons with the Buccaneers (2016-19), Benenoch appeared in 35 games with 22 starts at left tackle, right tackle and right guard. The Katy, Texas native started all 16 regular season games for the Buccaneers at right guard in 2018.
· Bronson, 6-3, 300, was originally signed by New Orleans as an undrafted free agent in 2021 out of the University of Washington. In three seasons for the Huskies, he appeared in 29 games totaling 42 tackles (25 solo), three sacks and one fumble recovery. In the Pac 12’s abbreviated season in 2020, Bronson played in all four games with three starts at defensive tackle and posted eight tackles and one fumble recovery
· Huggins, 6-3, 305, originally signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent out of Clemson in 2019. Huggins has spent time on the active/ practice squad rosters for five teams. He appeared in four games for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019, notching three total tackles and one quarterback hit and played in one game for the Detroit Lions in 2020. The Orangeburg, S.C. native played four seasons (2015-18) at Clemson, appearing in 46 games at defensive tackle for the Tigers. Over his college career, Huggins amassed 68 tackles (33 solo), 11.5 stops for loss and 6.5 sacks.
· McManis, 6-1, 190, originally signed with San Francisco as an undrafted free agent in 2016 out of Memphis. The Olive Branch, Miss. native played in the last two games of the 2016 season for San Francisco and from 2017-19, played in 43 games for CFL’s Calgary Stampeders, recording 104 defensive tackles, 41 special teams stops, four sacks and two forced fumbles. During his college career at Memphis (2012-15), McManis appeared in 47 games and registered 110 tackles, nine stops for loss and 3.0 sacks.
· Mills, 6-2, 180 signed with the Seattle Seahawks this offseason as an undrafted free agent out of North Carolina Central. In his lone season in Durham in 2019, the Palmdale, Calif. native appeared in all 12 games with ten starts, accounting for 22 tackles (17 solo), a split sack and ranked second in the MEAC with 13 passes defended (5 interceptions, 8 pass break-ups).
· Russell, 5-11, 194 was originally a third round draft pick (74th overall) of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2016. The Everett, Wash. native has appeared in 21 games with one start for the Cincinnati Bengals (2016-18) and Green Bay Packers (2020) where he recorded 20 tackles (17 solo), one interception, two passes defensed and a blocked field goal. Russell appeared in one regular season game for the Packers in 2020 and his first two career playoff contests where he contributed on special teams.
· White, 6-3, 216 is a five-year NFL veteran who was originally selected in the first round (seventh overall) by the Chicago Bear in the 2015 NFL Draft. In four seasons with Chicago and San Francisco, The Plainfield, N.J. native has appeared in 17 regular season games with five starts, making 25 receptions for 285 yards, carrying once for nine yards and returning one kickoff for 20 yards. White most recently appeared in three regular season contests for San Francisco in 2020 and appeared in one preseason contest for New Orleans.
· Winston Jr., 6-0, 192, signed with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent out of Washington State in 2020. In two seasons with the Cougars, he recorded 137 receptions for 1,624 yards (11.9 avg.) with 19 touchdowns. As a redshirt senior in 2019, the San Francisco, Calif. native played in 13 games and finished with 85 receptions for 970 yards (11.9 avg.) with 11 touchdowns, as he was tied for second in the Pac-12 in TD receptions, ranked fourth in catches and sixth in receiving yards
· Wolf, 6-5, 262, was originally signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee in 2018. Since entering the NFL, Wolf has spent time on the active/practice squad rosters for eight teams. In four seasons in Knoxville, Wolf complied 998 career receiving yards on 91 receptions with seven touchdowns in 50 games. He finished career ranked second in Volunteers history for receptions and third for receiving yards among tight ends.
{Courtesy: release from the New Orleans Saints}
