After losing Jonathan Jones to what proved to be a season-ending shoulder injury last week, the New England Patriots hosted three free agent cornerbacks for workouts.
Two are now members of the Patriots’ practice squad.
New England signed veteran corners Brian Poole and De’Vante Bausby to its practice squad Wednesday, according to reports from NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport and Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal.
Both players made their Patriots practice debuts Wednesday afternoon.
Poole is the more experienced of the two, having played in 70 games with 38 starts across three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons and two with the New York Jets. Listed at 5-foot-9, 213 pounds, the 29-year-old primarily has worked out the slot throughout his career, playing 359 of his 483 defensive snaps there last season, per Pro Football Focus. He’ll provide depth at that position with top option Jones done for the year.
Advanced stats paint a positive picture of Poole’s skill set. Before knee and shoulder injuries landed him on injured reserve last November, his PFF grade was ninth-best among cornerbacks with at least 400 snaps. His 2019 grade ranked seventh.
Poole signed with the New Orleans Saints shortly before training camp, was placed on injured reserve in August and was released Oct. 12.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Bausby is well traveled, having spent time with the Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals, Las Vegas Raiders and San Antonio Commanders of the now-defunct Alliance of American Football since entering the NFL as an undrafted rookie out of Division-II Pittsburg State in 2015.
Fifteen of Bausby’s 26 NFL appearances to date came with Denver in 2019 and 2020. He played 74% of defensive snaps in the Broncos’ win over the Patriots at Gillette Stadium last October. Longer and leaner than Poole, Bausby mostly played as an outside corner in his previous NFL stops.
The Patriots could opt to elevate either or both to their gameday roster for Sunday’s matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers. They currently have J.C. Jackson, Jalen Mills, Myles Bryant, Joejuan Williams, Shaun Wade and special teamer Justin Bethel on their 53-man roster. Wade returned to practice Wednesday following a three-week concussion-related absence.
New England also reportedly signed linebacker Calvin Munson off the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad Wednesday.
