The New England Patriots continued their streak of minor free agent moves Thursday by reportedly signing former New York Jets safety Terrence Brooks to a two-year contract.
Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk was the first to report the signing.
Brooks entered the NFL as a third-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2014 but rarely has played outside of the kicking game. The 27-year-old has not played more than nine percent of his team’s overall defensive snaps since his rookie season when he played 31.4 percent of snaps for the Ravens.
After two seasons in Baltimore, Brooks spent the 2016 campaign with the Philadelphia Eagles before being traded to the Jets in August 2017. He appeared in all but one game for New York over the next two seasons, ranking third on the team in special teams snaps played in 2017 and first in 2018.
Brooks also intercepted two passes during a win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 3 of the 2017 season and broke up four passes over the course of his Jets tenure.
The Jets last month declined Brooks’ contract option, making him a free agent. The Florida State product joins a safety depth chart that features Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung, Duron Harmon, Obi Melifonwu and Nate Ebner. Ebner also is a core special teamer who seldom plays on defense.
Brooks is the third external free agent to sign with the Patriots this week following running back Brandon Bolden (who returns to New England after one year in Miami) and wide receiver Bruce Ellington. All three of those signings have yet to be announced by the team.
The Patriots also re-signed wide receiver Phillip Dorsett, cornerback Jason McCourty and defensive end John Simon and placed restricted free agent tenders on cornerback Jonathan Jones and wideout Josh Gordon.
