Patriots Have Unique Connection To New Practice Squad Player

The Patriots made a relatively obvious addition Monday, signing offensive tackle Jalen McKenzie to their practice squad.

New England, as you’re all well aware, is in desperate need of help on the offensive line. Chukwuma Okorafor, Vederian Lowe and Caedan Wallace each have started one game on the blindside, and none of them looked like a long-term option moving forward. Okorafor isn’t even with the team anymore. Lowe suffered yet another injury in his start. Wallace struggled mightily in his first exposure to the left side, and he got banged up before leaving last Thursday’s loss to the New York Jets entirely.

McKenzie is a low-profile player, but as injuries and poor performance continue to mount early in the season, there’s no harm in bringing in depth options on the practice squad.

He also has ties to a few folks at One Patriot Place.

McKenzie is the son of former Los Angeles Raiders linebacker Reggie McKenzie, who served as an executive for the Green Bay Packers, Oakland Raiders and Miami Dolphins. The elder McKenzie got his start under former Packers general manager Ron Wolf.

Are you starting to connect the dots?

Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf, who made the decision to sign Jalen McKenzie, the son of Ron Wolf.

*lightbulb*

Does this have anything to do with anything? No, probably not. But it is an interesting example of how these personnel moves work. It’s totally unsurprising that a young executive would lean on someone he’s familiar with.

McKenzie (the one who plays football, not the executive) coincidentally is coming off a tenure with the Las Vegas Raiders, who released him in late August while trimming down their roster. The Patriots will look to build off his two-plus seasons as a practice squadder, perhaps turning him into a serviceable option along the offensive line.