Patriots Bolster Tight End Depth By Signing Two To Practice Squad

The New England Patriots quadrupled their amount of available tight ends Tuesday when they signed Dylan Cantrell and David Wells to their practice squad and claimed Jordan Thomas off waivers from the Arizona Cardinals.

The Patriots went into Monday night’s win over the Jets with Ryan Izzo as their only active tight end.

The Patriots actually claimed Thomas on Monday, but the move became official Tuesday. Cantrell and Wells were brought in for workouts Friday, went through COVID-19 testing and quarantining over the weekend then worked out and were signed Tuesday.

To make room for Cantrell and Wells, the Patriots released defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow from their practice squad.

The Patriots received a roster exemption for Thomas, so he doesn’t take a spot on the 53-man roster.

Wide receiver Isaiah Ford and defensive tackle Isaiah Mack were lifted off of the exemption list Tuesday. To make room for Ford and Mack, linebacker Cassh Maluia was waived, and Dalton Keene (knee) was placed on injured reserve, where he joins fellow rookie tight ends Devin Asiasi and Jake Burt.

Cantrell, a Texas Tech product, is the more athletic of the Patriots’ new practice squad tight ends. He’s a converted wide receiver who has bulked up to 6-foot-3, 240 pounds. He caught 158 passes for 1,873 yards with 18 touchdowns with the Red Raiders in college.

Wells, who’s 6-foot-6, 256 pounds, has decent speed (4.75-second 40-yard dash) for his size. Wells went undrafted out of San Diego State in 2018 after catching 38 passes for 449 yards with six touchdowns with the Aztecs.