New Orleans Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis announced today that the club has signed wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. and running back Jarquez Hunter to the practice squad and placed long snapper Zach Wood on Injured Reserve/Designated to Return after returning to practice today.

Austin, 6-2, 200, was originally signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2022 out of Notre Dame. After spending his rookie season on the Jaguars practice squad in 2023, he has spent the past three seasons in New Orleans on both the active roster and the practice squad, appearing in 20 games with three starts, catching 25 passes for 298 yards with one touchdown. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native has played in four contests in 2026 and caught one pass for a seven-yard gain.

Hunter, 5-11, 211, was originally selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the fourth round (117th overall) in the 2025 NFL Draft out of Auburn. Hunter played in five regular season games and one postseason contest for the Rams as a rookie. He was acquired by the Miami Dolphins from the Rams at the conclusion of 2026 training camp and spent the first five weeks of the season on the Miami practice squad.

The Philadelphia, Miss. native played four seasons at Auburn and finished his college career fourth among Tigers career rushers with 3,371 yards and 25 touchdowns, while ranking six among all-purpose yardage leaders (4,453). Hunter finished his senior campaign with 187 carries for 1,201 yards (6.4 avg.) with eight touchdowns and caught 21 passes for 155 yards with one touchdown.