The New England Patriots took a risk Monday when they waived safety Obi Melifonwu in their corresponding roster move to sign Antonio Brown. It paid off.
Melifonwu cleared waivers, and the Patriots are re-signing the safety to their practice squad, a source confirmed to NESN.com.
The news was first reported by the Boston Herald’s Karen Guregian.
The Patriots signed Melifonwu last season after he was released by the Oakland Raiders. Melifonwu was selected in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of the University of Connecticut.
The Grafton, Mass. native has great size and speed at 6-foot-4, 224 pounds with a 4.4-second 40-yard dash.
He’ll serve as safety depth behind Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung, Duron Harmon, Terrence Brooks and special-teamer Nate Ebner.
The Patriots had an open spot on their practice squad after releasing tight end Stephen Anderson. They now have an open spot on their 53-man roster after trading wide receiver Demaryius Thomas to the New York Jets.
