Three Players Who Could Fill Patriots’ Open Roster Spot Vs. Bills

FOXBORO, Mass. — The Patriots did not immediately fill the new vacancy on their 53-man roster.

One day after releasing rookie special teamer Ameer Speed, head coach Bill Belichick on Friday said the team likely won’t announce a corresponding roster move until Saturday. New England is preparing to host the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

While the Patriots’ roster plans remained unclear as of midday Friday, there were three obvious candidates to take Speed’s place on the 53:

CB Jack Jones
Jones has not played this season after suffering a hamstring injury late in the summer, but he returned to practice this week and is eligible to be activated off injured reserve ahead of Sunday’s game.

Getting Jones back in the fold would boost a cornerback group that’s been decimated by injuries this season. Christian Gonzalez and Marcus Jones both are in the middle of long-term IR stints. Jonathan Jones missed three games with an ankle issue and then left last week’s loss to the Raiders after injuring his knee. He sat out the first two practices this week but returned in a limited capacity Thursday.

The Patriots need all the secondary help they can get for this week’s matchup against Stefon Diggs, the Pro Bowl Bills receiver who’s torched them throughout his career.

DE Trey Flowers
Flowers, who is on the physically unable to perform list, began practicing two weeks ago. He’s coming off several injury-plagued seasons and hasn’t played since last October, but he was the Patriots’ top pass rusher during his first stint with the franchise, which included a pair of Super Bowl titles.

It’s not clear how much the 30-year-old has left in the tank, but New England badly needs pass-rush help with Matthew Judon on IR for the foreseeable future and Josh Uche and Keion White both unlikely to play Sunday after missing all four practices this week.

The Patriots have struggled to get after opposing quarterbacks since losing Judon to a torn bicep tendon in Week 4. They generated just 18 total pressures over their last two games, per Pro Football Focus, after registering 81 over their first four.

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ST Cody Davis
If the Patriots are eyeing a 1-for-1 Speed replacement, Davis would be the choice. A veteran special teams standout, he suffered a season-ending knee injury last October and has been back practicing for the last two weeks.

Davis ranked third among Patriots players in special teams snaps in both 2020 and 2021, and he was on the field for 72% of them before his injury last season.

The Patriots have until next Wednesday to activate Flowers and Davis before they revert to PUP and are ruled out for the rest of the season.

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If Jones, Flowers and Davis all are not ready to return, the Patriots could promote a player from their practice squad to fill the open spot. Conor McDermott, who rejoined the team this week, is one notable candidate, as he’d likely be an upgrade over the struggling Vederian Lowe at right tackle.