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Jonathan Mendoza, a former Westhampton Beach High School football star, is officially headed to the NFL.
The 6-foot-9, 310-pound offensive tackle has signed a one-year contract with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent, the team announced on Wednesday.
Mendoza played his final collegiate season at the University of Louisville, where he started all 13 games at right tackle and helped lead the Cardinals to a Sun Bowl appearance. Before that, he starred at Yale, earning First Team All-Ivy honors and winning the Fredric Woodrow “Woody” Knapp Memorial Trophy — awarded to the team member who best exemplifies leadership, positivity and selflessness.
A 2017 Long Island champion with Westhampton Beach, Mendoza also participated in a rookie minicamp with the Buffalo Bills earlier this summer before inking the deal with New Orleans.
He now joins another Westhampton Beach alum in the league — Dylan Laube, a 2024 sixth-round pick by the Las Vegas Raiders following a record-setting career at the University of New Hampshire.
Top: New Orleans Saints offensive tackle Jonathan Mendoza (79) goes through drills during their NFL football training camp in Metairie, La., Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
