Patriots add swing tackle with new signing

The New England Patriots are making an addition to their offensive line room. On Monday afternoon, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported the team has signed tackle James Hudson to a one-year deal.

Hudson, who is entering his age-27 season, comes to New England with five years of NFL experience. Drafted in the fourth round by the Cleveland Browns in 2021 he spent his first three seasons primarily at right tackle, but has played mostly on the left side the last two years. In total he's played in 60 NFL games making 19 starts.

After spending his first four NFL seasons in Cleveland, Hudson signed with the Giants last spring. He started the first two games of the season at left tackle for New York, while Andrew Thomas dealt with an injury. His only other snap of the season came in Week 18.

In New England Hudson projects to compete for a depth tackle spot. His swing tackle ability at 6-foot-5, 313 pounds brings value to a team that could be overhauling its tackle depth after Vederian Lowe left in free agency. Thayer Munford remains un-signed as well.

The only other tackles currently on the roster behind starters Will Campbell and Morgan Moses are Marcus Bryant, Sebastian Gutierrez, and Lorenz Metz. Caedan Wallace played tackle in college, but worked as a guard last year.

This leaves the Patriots' roster at 72 players on the 90-man limit. They'd already made a cut on Monday, moving on from backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs.