Patriots announce series of roster moves after standing pat at NFL trade deadline
The New England Patriots didn’t make a trade ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, but did make a few roster moves.
The NFL trade deadline has come and gone, with the New England Patriots not making a move before the window closed at 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday. With that, the team’s lone move of the trade deadline period was sending linebacker Joshua Uche to the Kansas City Chiefs last week.
While they ultimately didn’t make a move, the Patriots did seem to have their chances. In particular wide receiver K.J. Osborn was mentioned in multiple reports as a player teams were interesting in acquiring. Osborn had made it sound in recent weeks like he would welcome a trade. ESPN’s Mike Reiss noted on Sunday that the Patriots could end up releasing Osborn if a deal didn’t get done, as they look to create more opportunities for the younger receivers on their roster.
There were a few other receivers who did move on deadline day. Mike Williams went from the Jets to the Steelers for a fifth-round pick, while Jonathan Mingo went from the Panthers to the Cowboys along with a seventh-round pick in exchange for a fourth-round pick.
Tuesday may not have seen any trades by the Patriots, but the team did make multiple roster moves. That began on Tuesday morning, with the signing of Tyrese Robinson. In order to open up a spot for Robinson the Patriots released offensive lineman Zach Thomas. Thomas, 26, was claimed off waivers by the Patriots after final roster cuts and had filled in at both guard and tackle for them this year.
The Patriots also made a swap on the practice squad. They signed linebacker Monty Rice, who entered the NFL as a third-round pick by the Titans in 2021. Rice appeared in 35 games over three years in Tennessee, playing mostly on special teams before getting cut late last season. He spent this summer with the New Orleans Saints, who cut him during final roster cuts. The Falcons then signed him to their practice squad, before releasing him two weeks ago.
In order to make room on the practice squad the Patriots released center Bryan Hudson. Hudson was a part of New England’s initial UDFA class, but did not appear in any games this season.
