The New England Patriots have taken the first step toward the 2020 offseason.
After being eliminated from the postseason by virtue of their 20-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, the Patriots were free to sign players to reserve/future contracts. These deals ensure that the players signed will have a spot on the Patriots 90-man roster when the new league year officially begins in March.
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All of the Patriots signings came from their practice squad. These are the seven players they agreed to deals with:
- WR Quincy Adeboyejo
- LB Terez Hall
- S Obi Melifonwu
- DB Adarius Pickett
- WR Devin Ross
- DL Nick Thurman
- OL Najee Toran
There name that most Patriots fans will be familiar with from this list is Melifonwu. The Massachusetts-born safety went to college at UConn and was a second-round pick of the Oakland Raiders in 2017. After being cut by the Raiders in 2018, he signed with the Patriots.
In two games as a member of the Patriots active roster, Melifonwu recorded three tackles. The 6-foot-4 athletic freak nearly won a roster spot with the team in 2019 but instead stayed on the practice squad. Now, he will get a chance to prove himself in another offseason with the team.
Of the signings, Adeboyejo is the only player besides Melifonwu that has been on an NFL game-day roster. He suited up for one game with the Baltimore Ravens back at the end of the 2017 season.