New Orleans Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis announced Friday, May 14 that the club has signed defensive back Deuce Wallace, linebacker Sutton Smith and wide receiver Easop Winston Jr. and waived/failed physical defensive backs Eric Burrell and Trill Williams.
Wallace, 5 feet 10, 217 pounds, played at Louisiana-Lafayette from 2015-19, initially joining the team as a walk-on after a standout high school career at St. Thomas More High School in Lafayette. The 24-year-old played in 40 career games in college and posted 73 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, four passes defensed and one forced fumble. As a redshirt senior in 2019, he was voted a team captain and played in 14 games, recording 22 tackles (15 solo), one stop for loss and one pass defense. As a redshirt junior in 2018, he played in 14 games and posted 40 tackles, three stops for loss, one sack, one interception, two passes defensed and a forced fumble, as the only member of the team to post a tackle, stop for loss, a sack, an interception, a forced fumble and a pass defensed. Wallace's father, Don, played quarterback at Louisiana from 1981-84 and is currently ranked 10th in school history in passing yardage. His younger brother Dane, recently completed his freshman season as a wide receiver at Northwestern State (La.).
Smith, 6-0, 232, was originally selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round (175th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Northern Illinois. In 2019, Smith had stints on the Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars practice squads and spent the 2020 offseason with the Seattle Seahawks. The St. Charles, Mo., native became the first two-time first-team All-American in Northern Illinois history as he was selected MAC Defensive player of the Year in 2017 and 2018. Smith ranks third all-time in program history in sacks (30) and tackles for loss (58). In 2018 he repeated as the league's Defensive Player of the Year as he amassed 61 tackles (43 solo), breaking his own school record for sacks in a season (15).
Winston, 6-0, 192, spent the 2020 preseason with the Los Angeles Rams following a standout two-year career at Washington State, where he recorded 137 receptions for 1,624 yards with 19 touchdowns. As a redshirt senior in 2019, the San Francisco native played in 13 games and finished with 85 receptions for 970 yards with 11 touchdowns. He was named an All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection.
