The New Orleans Saints are tapping into the Nacua family tree. On Friday, executive vice president and general manager Mickey Loomis announced that the club has signed wide receiver Samson Nacua to a deal. In a corresponding move, New Orleans released quarterback Nathan Peterman.
As you may have guessed, Samson is the older brother of Los Angeles Rams star pass catcher Puka Nacua, who rewrote the record book as a rookie last season. Puka set new single-season highs in receptions (105) and receiving yards (1,486). He also recorded the most receiving yards by a rookie in a playoff game with 181 a season ago.
As for Samson, he'll look to follow in his brother's footsteps in his latest crack at making an NFL roster. The 6-foot-3, 206-pound pass catcher originally signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2022 after finishing his collegiate career at BYU. He was with Indy for training camp that year but did not make the 53-man roster. From there, he dipped into the spring leagues, first getting a shot with the USFL's Pittsburgh Maulers in 2023 and, most recently, was on the UFL's Michigan Panthers. There, he recorded 11 receptions for 125 yards.
Nacua was a walk-on at the University of Utah in 2015 and played four seasons for the Utes. In that time, he caught 82 balls for 1,015 yards and 11 touchdowns in 45 games. In 2021, with one year left of eligibility, he transferred to BUY where he caught 21 passes for 329 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games.
Nacua now joins a Saints receiver room that is headlined by Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, A.T. Perry, Cecrick Wilson Jr., and Equanimeous St. Brown.
