The New Orleans Saints continue to look for the best possible players to have in their building as they look to chase the NFC South title during the 2026 NFL season.
Their latest signing, David Ojabo, certainly brings plenty of talent to the roster.
The Saints announced Ojabo’s signing on Thursday. The athletic defender will initially join the practice squad.
He was one of two practice squad signings on Thursday, along with running back Ulysses Bentley IV.
Ojabo has enough NFL experience to think that at some point, he could be given an elevation to the gameday roster, although it’s not clear if that might happen in Week 4 or simply at some point down the road.
What To Know About David Ojabo
Ojabo is still conceptually in his prime, signing with the Saints at just 26 years old.
He’s an edge-rushing outside linebacker who stands 6-foot-4 and 256 pounds.
Originally from Nigeria, Ojabo was a second-round pick by the Ravens in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Michigan.
Ojabo spent each of his first four NFL seasons with the Ravens. He played just five games across his two years before playing 27 games across the past two seasons.
Last year, Ojabo had just half a sack in 14 games, making 16 total tackles. He has 4.5 sacks in 32 career games in the NFL.
Ojabo had put together a dominant 2021 season at Michigan to earn his spot in the NFL. That year, he played in 14 games and had 12 tackles for loss, including 11 sacks. Ojabo also forced five fumbles that year.
The Ravens chose not to sign Ojabo to a new contract after the 2025 season, which made him a free agent.
He actually signed with the Miami Dolphins very quickly in March, but they waived him at the end of the preseason.
Ojabo has intrigued other teams since then, including a recent visit with the Indianapolis Colts, but they didn’t sign him.
Instead, the Saints step in and land a potential playmaker.
Ojabo’s athleticism is quite impressive at his size, too. At the 2022 NFL Combine, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.55 seconds and vertical leaped 35 inches.
Saints Depth Chart
The Saints do have experienced players that often line up at outside linebacker in their 3-4 scheme, including Chase Young, Carl Granderson, Anfernee Jennings, Tyree Wilson and even Cameron Jordan.
Ojabo actually is a bit of a trend breaker as far as the Saints’ edge-rushing group is concerned — he’s got more youth and athleticism than most of them at this point.
Potentially, Ojabo can add a different dimension to a group that, aside from Young, has to rely on a heck of a lot of moxie.
It’s also fair to add some insurance to one of the roster’s oldest position groups. You’d figure there might be more chance of injury to such a unit, and so maybe Ojabo will get a chance sooner rather than later.
Saints Sign Former 2nd-Round Pick Before Week 4