Former Penn State football defensive end and linebacker Jesse Luketa is off to his third NFL team as he enters his fifth season in the league.
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On Thursday, March 5, the New England Patriots announced that they signed the linebacker to a one-year deal. He previously played for the Los Angeles Rams on their practice squad and started his career in Arizona.
New England Patriots sign former Nittany Lion linebacker Jesse Luketa to one-year deal
The Cardinals drafted Luketa out of Penn State in the 2022 NFL Draft. From his rookie season through 2024, he registered 35 tackles, seven tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, and one forced fumble. Luketa started in three contests for Arizona and played in 31 games.
As a rookie, he worked his way up from the practice squad and made it onto the 53-man roster on Sept. 27, 2022. After his stint with the Cardinals, Los Angeles signed Luketa to its practice squad on Nov. 18, 2025. He remained a practice squad body for the Rams through the postseason.
This move for New England happened over a week after it released running back Antonio Gibson from the team. The Patriots previously signed a handful of players to future/reserve contracts, but Gibson and Luketa are the first two major moves before the free agency signing period kicks off.
Luketa will likely fight for his spot on the Patriots' active roster once OTAs and training camp rolls around. New England isn't lacking depth at linebacker with Harold Landry, Anfernee Jennings, Elijah Ponder, and Bradyn Swinson. All four of those players are still udner contract for the 2026 season. However, Luketa can be a valuable special teams player for the Patriots and work his way into a rotation as the season progresses. New England also had unrestricted free agent K'Lavon Chaisson to navigate.
Luketa was a Nittany Lion for four seasons from 2018-21. For the blue and white, he logged 151 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, seven passes defensed, one fumble recovery, one interception, and a half-sack playing at linebacker. Arizona drafted him 256th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft in the seventh round.