Patriots Draft Pick Claimed Off Waivers After New England Release

The Patriots seemingly hoped to re-sign Ameer Speed to their practice squad after releasing him Thursday. The Colts had other plans.

Indianapolis claimed the 2023 Patriots draft pick off waivers Friday.

Speed, a sixth-round rookie defensive back out of Michigan State, primarily was a special teamer during his brief stint with New England. He logged 73 snaps in the kicking game and just 10 on defense — all in garbage time of a blowout loss to New Orleans — across five appearances for the Patriots. Speed also was a healthy scratch for New England’s Week 2 loss to Miami.

Speed, who still had a full stall in the Patriots’ locker room Friday afternoon, was the first member of New England’s 2023 draft class to be released by the team. Nine of the 12 selections currently are on the Patriots’ 53-man roster, and two others (cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez and Isaiah Bolden) are on injured reserve.

The Patriots did not immediately fill Speed’s open roster spot, with head coach Bill Belichick saying they didn’t plan to do so until Saturday. The top candidates to replace the departed rookie on the roster are cornerback Jack Jones, defensive end Trey Flowers and special teamer Cody Davis, all of whom are eligible to return from IR (in Jones’ case) or the physically unable to perform list.

New England is set to host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.