Patriots add linebacker off Colts practice squad

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The New England Patriots have made a change at the end of the linebacker depth chart.

According to Jordan Schultz on Monday, the Pats signed linebacker Chad Muma off the Colts practice squad. This came after the team waived linebacker Caleb Murphy, which was necessary to sign Muma, because practice squad signings go directly to the 53-man roster.

A third-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Wyoming, Muma played five games for the Colts during the 2025 season, totaling 32 snaps on defense and 71 on special teams. Indy originally claimed him off waivers from Jacksonville in late August during final roster cutdowns, then in November waived him themselves before quickly signing him back to the practice squad. Muma is primarily an inside linebacker on defense, but his biggest workload for the Colts was 30 snaps in kick return coverage. So, it's possible that this move is a response to the Pats' struggles in that department in Sunday's loss to the Bills, in which they allowed an average of 41 return yards on kickoffs. According to data collected by Mike Reiss, Murphy was a regular on all four special teams coverage units.

The Patriots could also possibly use linebacker depth on defense. Robert Spillane, despite being active for Sunday's game, did not play after being questionable with a foot injury. This resulted in an increased workload for Jack Gibbens (100% of defensive snaps) and Christian Elliss (season-high 85.7% of snaps).

According to Pro Football Focus, the Pats missed 10 tackles on Sunday against the Bills, with two credited to Gibbens and one to Elliss. Marcus Jones led the team with 10 total tackles, while Jahlani Tavai led all linebackers with three.

Muma, who has five total tackles this season, won't necessarily help the Patriots in that department, or on defense at all, especially if Spillane is able to return in Week 16. But it's possible that Muma goes right in on their special teams coverage units, which certainly deserved a shake-up after Sunday's issues.

Next: Patriots take big hit in race for No. 1 seed after Sunday

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Matt DolloffWriter

Matt, a North Andover, Massachusetts native, has been with The Sports Hub since 2010. Growing up the son of Boston University All-American and Melrose High School hall-of-fame hockey player Steve Dolloff, sports was always a part of his life. After attending Northeastern University, Matt focused his love of sports on writing, extensively writing about all four major Boston teams. He also is a co-host of the Sports Hub Underground podcast and is a regular on-air contributor on the Sports Hub. Matt writes about all New England sports from Patriots football to Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins.