New England's new tackles have three games of experience combined
The New England Patriots claimed four players following the league’s 53-man roster cutdown, including a pair of offensive tackles.
New England claimed offensive tackles Demontrey Jacobs (Denver Broncos) and Zachary Thomas (Los Angeles Rams) along with linebacker Curtis Jacobs (Kansas City Chiefs) and defensive tackle Eric Johnson (Indianapolis Colts).
The Patriots have to cut four players from their 53-man roster to make room for those players.
The 26-year-old Thomas was a sixth-round pick by the Bears in the 2022 NFL Draft. He was waived by Chicago following his debut training camp but re-signed to the team’s practice squad. Thomas then joined Los Angeles in Nov. 2022 and went on to play three games between the 2022 and 2023 campaigns. He saw 26% of offensive snaps and 15% of special teams snaps in 2023.
Demontrey Jacobs, 25, has not yet played an NFL game. The 6-foot-6, 315-pound tackle played three seasons for South Florida and was undrafted out of college.
Jacobs is an undrafted free agent out of Penn State.
Johnson was selected in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He finished the 2024 preseason with three pressures on 32 pass rush snaps, per Colts Wire.
The Patriots did not have any players claimed but have since made additions to the practice squad. Quarterback Bailey Zappe has a deal in place to sign with the Chiefs practice squad, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.