Patriots continue roster shuffling with return of young safety
The Pats made their latest move in what’s been an active season of transactions at the end of the roster and practice squad.
The Patriots are once again tinkering with the end of their roster.
Rookie safety John Saunders Jr. is back with the team, and his absence was so quick he may have never left Foxboro. The team announced Wednesday that Saunders has signed with the practice squad, just two days after he'd been released from the 53-man roster to make room for the promotion of tight end C.J. Dippre. Saunders, an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi, originally joined the Pats as a signing off the Dolphins practice squad, which by rule requires him to sign straight to the 53. Once the team released him, he was then free to sign back via the practice squad, essentially making this a swap of Dippre and Saunders between the two rosters, with more paperwork.
The Patriots have been working through a midseason transition period at safety. They sent Kyle Dugger to the Steelers ahead of the trade deadline, leaving some snaps to replace. Rookie Craig Woodson has led all Patriots defenders in snaps this season (97.6%), while Jaylinn Hawkins has played 78.2% of snaps overall. Second-year safety Dell Pettus has started to see more time on defense in recent weeks, with nine snaps last Thursday against the Jets. One of those plays resulted in a big fourth-down pass breakup for Pettus, who has earned an elite 91.0 grade at Pro Football Focus in his minimal playing time.
This makes Saunders something of a long shot to actually play for the Patriots any time soon. Even Brenden Schooler, a core special teams player, played a snap on defense against the Jets. They also signed fifth-year safety Richie Grant to the practice squad in October, and elevated him to the active roster in Week 8 against the Cleveland Browns, when he played nine special teams snaps.
The Patriots safety room also has a clean bill of health, as none of them appeared on the first injury report of the week ahead of a road matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. Saunders remains a depth, scout team kind of move, and the latest example of what's been an aggressive season of shuffling the end of the roster and practice squad for Mike Vrabel's team.
