New Orleans Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis announced Thursday that the club has signed guard Yasir Durant, defensive tackle Prince Emili, running back Derrick Gore, defensive back Vincent Gray, tight end Lucas Krull, quarterback Jake Luton, linebacker Nephi Sewell and defensive end Jabari Zuniga to reserve/future contracts.
Yasir Durant – Guard, Missouri (6-7, 215)
Originally signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as a rookie free agent in 2020 out of Missouri, this Philadelphia native has played in 20 career games with two starts in the regular season for the Chiefs (2020), New England Patriots (2021) and Saints (2022), also appearing in three postseason games. In 2022, after spending the preseason with the Patriots, Durant joined the Saints practice squad in Week Three of the regular season and saw action on special teams in the team's win vs. the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 20. In his college career, Durant started at left tackle at Missouri for 33 of his final 34 games, as the Tigers averaged 6.3 yards per play.
Prince Emili – Defensive Tackle, Pennsylvania (6-2, 300)
After starting the season with the Buffalo Bills, appearing in two games and recording three assisted tackles and one pass defense, this former Penn standout joined the Saints practice squad for the second half of the season. The New City, N.Y. native was a four-year letterman in college and as a senior in 2021, started and appeared in all ten games and finished with 49 tackles, 13 stops for loss which ranked second in the Ivy League, five sacks and one blocked kick.
Derrick Gore – Running Back, Louisiana-Monroe (5-10, 212)
Originally signed by the Los Angeles Chargers out of Louisiana-Monroe as an undrafted free agent in 2019, Gore appeared in 11 regular season games for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021 and carried 51 times for 256 yards with two touchdowns and caught eight passes for 105 yards to go with one assisted special teams stop. Gore also played in two postseason games and carried three times for three yards for the Chiefs. Gore spent the second half of the 2022 season on the Saints practice squad and has had stints on the practice roster of the Chiefs (2021), Los Angeles Chargers (2019-20) and Washington (2019). In two college seasons with the Warhawks, the Syracuse, N.Y. native played in 24 games and carried 295 times for 1,247 yards with 12 touchdowns and caught 34 passes for 254 yards and one score.
Vincent Gray – Defensive Back, Michigan (6-2, 192)
Gray played in 35 career games for Michigan from 2018-21 with 21 starts at cornerback and logged 91 tackles, five stops for loss, one sack, one interception, 17 passes defensed and one forced fumble. The Rochester, Mich. native recorded six solo tackles and one pass defense in the preseason for the Saints, signing with the club as a rookie free agent following the 2022 NFL Draft. Gray spent his entire rookie season on the Saints practice squad.
Lucas Krull – Tight End, Pittsburgh (6-6, 260)
The Shawnee, Kansas native finished his college career with the Panthers from 2020-21 after previous stops at the University of Florida and Jefferson College, appearing in 28 games with 11 starts for Pitt. In 2021, he compiled 38 receptions for 451 yards (11.9 avg.) with six touchdowns. In the 2022 preseason, after signing with New Orleans as a rookie free agent, Krull made four receptions for 24 yards and played on special teams in a Week 14 regular season contest vs. Tampa Bay, serving on the practice squad the remainder of the season prior to and after his elevation.
Jake Luton – Quarterback, Oregon State (6-6, 224)
Originally a sixth round draft pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020 out of Oregon State, Luton (pronounced Loo-ten) started three games for the Jaguars as a rookie and completed 60-of-110 passes for 624 yards with two touchdowns. Luton spent the 2021 campaign on the Seattle practice squad and active roster and later the Miami Dolphins practice squad. He joined the Saints practice squad at the conclusion of the 2022 preseason, where he competed again for the Jaguars. Luton spent two games on the Saints active roster, sandwiched between his tenure on the practice squad. The Marysville, Wash. native completed his Oregon State career playing in 23 games for the Beavers with 21 starts and ranked fifth in school record books with 42 touchdown passes and 5,227 passing yards. As senior in 2019, he completed 222-of-358 passes (62.0%) for 28 touchdowns and only three interceptions. He became only the third quarterback in OSU history to throw for more than 20 touchdowns and nine or fewer interceptions. Luton started his college career at Idaho in 2015 and spent the 2016 season at Ventura Community College before transferring to Oregon State.
Nephi Sewell – Linebacker, Utah (6-0, 228)
In splitting his rookie season between the practice squad an active roster, Sewell played in four regular season contests on special teams. In the 2022 preseason, Sewell led New Orleans with 12 tackles (six solo) and one pass defense. 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.
Jabari Zuniga – Defensive End, Florida (6-3, 264)
Originally selected in the third round (79th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft by the New York Jets out of the University of Florida. The Marietta, Ga. native, has played in 12 games for the Jets from 2020-21 and one for the Saints (2022) and has career totals of ten tackles (six solo), one sack and one forced fumble. After spending the first month of the 2022 season on Seattle's practice squad, Zuniga then joined the Saints practice squad, where he was elevated for the November 20 win over the Los Angeles Rams, when he recorded two stops. In four seasons in Gainesville, he posted 118 tackles, 34.5 stops for loss and 18.5 sacks in 42 appearances. In 2019, he played in six contests with five starts and recorded 14 stops, seven stops for loss and three sacks. Zuniga's father, Carlos, is a New Orleans native, who is in the Holy Cross High School Athletic Hall of Fame for his accomplishments in basketball, followed by playing basketball at Tulane from 1976-79.
