New England Patriots fans will have to wait another week to see Brandon Browner and Brian Tyms take the game field.
The Patriots didn’t add Browner and Tyms — both of whom are coming off four-game suspensions — to the active roster Saturday, which would have required cutting two players. The Patriots have roster exemptions for Browner and Tyms until Monday at 4 p.m., when they have to either create roster spots for the cornerback and wide receiver or cut them.
Browner was suspended for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. The cornerback failed a drug test while playing for the Seattle Seahawks last season.
Tyms failed a performance-enhancing drug test last season while playing for the Cleveland Browns. The 6-foot-3, 204-pound receiver has a better shot of making the 53-man roster after the Patriots waived wideout Kenbrell Thompkins on Saturday.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick noted Friday that there’s a difference between being in shape and being in game shape.
“You could go out there and run laps around the field forever and do sit-ups, but until you put the other 21 guys out there on the field, it’s different,” Belichick said. “You just can’t simulate football without 22 guys on the field. You just can’t do it. Being in condition is important, I’m certainly not minimizing that, but playing football is playing football. It’s not doing wind sprints. That’s part of conditioning, but it’s not part of playing football. Playing football is 21 other guys. So, you can’t simulate that unless you’re out there doing it.
“Guys that miss time, whether it’s a player coming back off an injury or the Tyms-Browner situation or whatever it is, there’s an element to football — reactions, timing, execution — that’s separate from conditioning.”
The Patriots elected to add practice-squad linebacker Ja’Gared Davis to the active roster over Browner or Tyms. Davis fills a special teams void with safety Nate Ebner nursing a finger injury. The Patriots also are banged up at linebacker, as Dont’a Hightower (knee) and Jamie Collins (thigh) are questionable for Sunday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
