NFL Rumors: Former Patriots Practice Squadder Joining New England Staff

A former member of the New England Patriots’ practice squad will be back in Foxboro, Mass., this season.

The Patriots have hired former NFL safety Vinnie Sunseri for a “support staff role,” according to a report Tuesday from Matt Zenitz of AL.com.

A fifth-round draft pick of the New Orleans Saints in 2014, Sunseri was on New England’s 90-man roster during the summer of 2016 and spent the first half of the 2016 season on the Patriots’ practice squad. His final NFL appearance came with the San Francisco 49ers during the 2017 preseason.

The 28-year-old played under Nick Saban at Alabama and spent this past season as a graduate assistant with the Crimson Tide.

The Patriots lost one of their coaching assistants earlier this month when Bob Fraser left to rejoin longtime colleague Greg Schiano at Rutgers.