LB Easton Mascarenas-Arnold
Easton Mascarenas-Arnold (EMA) is a prospect cut from the same kind of cloth as Adin Huntington. An undersized linebacker (5'11", 227 lbs), he had great production between Oregon State and USC. As a Beaver and Trojan, EMA totaled 254 tackles, 19 tackles-for-loss, 7.0 sacks, and five interceptions.
Mascarenas-Arnold initially seemed like a long shot to make the roster, particularly with veterans Jordan Hicks, Devin Bush, Jerome Baker, Mohamoud Diabate, Winston Reid, and Nathaniel Watson ahead of him on the depth chart - fellow rookie Carson Schwesinger a second-round pick, notwithstanding.
The war of attrition took its course: Hicks retired, Bush got into legal trouble, Watson suffered a season-ending injury, and Reid himself suffered an injury and was placed on injured reserve (IR) with a designation to return. EMA took advantage of his preseason reps, logging 17 tackles and three tackles-for-loss, and earned a spot on the initial 53-man roster. Expect to see him active and engaged on special teams when Week 1 rolls around.