SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March 12, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Former Utah defensive lineman Leki Fotu is headed to the New York Jets on a one-year free-agent deal, according to several reports.
Fotu who spent his first four NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, will earn a base salary of $2.5 million next season with contract incentives that could pay him as much as $4 million, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
The former Utah and Herriman High School star missed six games with a hand injury but finished his fourth NFL season with 28 tackles (10 solo) and a career-high 2.5 sacks.
The 6-foot-5, 334-pound defensive lineman was selected by the Cardinals in the fourth round (114th overall) in the 2020 NFL Draft.
In all, Fotu appeared in 56 games and made 21 starts for the Cardinals, totaling 3.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, three passes defensed, one forced fumble and seven QB hits.
Fotu, 25, was an All-American and a two-time All-Pac-12 Conference First Team selection at Utah. He totaled 85 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, three passes defensed, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick for the Utes from 2016 to 2020.
Fotu, whose family originally is from Tonga, was the 2015 Region 4 Defensive MVP at Herriman High, totaling 79 tackles and 7.5 sacks in his senior season.
