The New Orleans Saints have signed fullback Adam Prentice and linebacker Nephi Sewell to the active roster from the practice squad, signed tackle Derrick Kelly II and linebacker Kenny Young to the practice squad and changed the status of tackle Trevor Penning to Reserve/Injured-Designated For Return, it was announced today by Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis.
Prentice, 6 feet 0, 245 pounds, was originally signed by Denver as a free agent following the 2021 NFL Draft out of South Carolina and spent the preseason with the Broncos before being awarded to the Saints off of waivers at the start of the regular season, for who he played in seven games with three starts and carried three times for five yards, caught three passes for 16 yards and recorded a special teams stop. In 2022, the Clovis, Calif. native played in the first three games of the season before rejoining the practice squad and carried once for two yards and added a special teams tackle in the home opener vs. Tampa Bay, Sept. 18.
Sewell, 6-0, 226, had spent the entire regular season on the practice squad until this date. He was a five-year letterman at Nevada (2017-19) and Utah (2020-21), who played safety his first three college seasons before switching to linebacker with the Utes. In five college seasons, the St. George, Utah native played in 44 games and finished with 254 tackles, 22.5 stops for loss, five interceptions, ten passes defensed, three forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. In 2021, he ranked second on Utah with 89 tackles, racking up 7.5 stops for loss, one interception and a forced fumble. In the 2022 preseason, Sewell led New Orleans with 12 tackles (six solo) and one pass defense.
Kelly, 6-5, 320, was originally signed by the Saints as an undrafted free agent out of Florida State in 2019. After spending his rookie season on the practice squad, Kelly appeared in six games on offense and special teams for the Black and Gold in 2020. In 2021, Kelly started the season on the Saints practice squad before joining the New York Giants practice roster at midseason and appearing in one contest. He signed with the Jets this offseason after participating in their rookie minicamp and then returned to New Orleans in the middle of the preseason from New York's training camp.
A five-year offensive lineman for the Seminoles, Kelly, was a four-year starter, who appeared in 34 career games with 28 starts at both tackle and at guard. He blocked for an offense third in the ACC and 28th in the country in passing offense (270.1 ypg.) as a senior in 2018. Kelly started all 13 contests as a junior in 2017, opening games at both left tackle and left guard and helped the Seminoles offense top the 400-yard mark five times. The Havana, Fla. native graduated with bachelor's degree in social science.
Young, 6-1, 235, is a former John Curtis Christian High School standout and fifth-year NFL veteran, who originally was a fourth round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens out of UCLA in 2018. Young has played in 63 career games with 25 starts for Baltimore (2018-19), the Los Angeles Rams (2019-21), the Denver Broncos (2021) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2022), recording career totals of 186 tackles (119 solo), 5.5 sacks, a 79-yard interception return for a touchdown, four passes defensed, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and ten special teams stops. In 2022, Young played in four games for Tampa Bay and recorded one coverage stop. In 2021, he enjoyed his most productive season, split between the Rams and Broncos after a midseason trade to Denver, starting all 13 contests he appeared in, recording 75 tackles (41 solo), two sacks, one pass defensed, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Young played in 50 games with 42 starts at UCLA from 2014-17 and finished his college career with 304 tackles (193 solo), 6.5 sacks, two interceptions, five passes defensed, two forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. He started all 12 games played was named first-team All-Pac-12 by conference coaches, and finished with 110 tackles (77 solo) to go along with one sacks, three passes defensed and one fumble recovery. As a senior at John Curtis in 2013, recorded 122 tackles, earned team MVP honors and helped lead the Patriots to a state championship, as he was named the New Orleans Times-Picayune/NOLA.com All-Metro Small Schools Defensive Player of the Year.
