Patriots Add Youth To OL In Practice Squad Shuffle

The New England Patriots are gearing up for what head coach Mike Vrabel has described as a “championship game” against the Buffalo Bills this Sunday.

The locker room is experiencing a shake-up ahead of Sunday afternoon’s battle, as offensive guard Mehki Butler was re-signed to the practice squad Monday morning.

The Patriots released Bill Murray, also an offensive guard, in a corresponding move.

Butler is an undrafted rookie out of Arkansas State who has spent time with the Patriots on and off since first being signed in May. He spent all of training camp with New England before being cut on August 26th and signed to the practice squad the following day.

The 24-year-old was released from the practice squad on September 11th and has remained unsigned until being brought back Monday.

Murray has had a long history with the Patriots, having been signed as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2020.

He began his career as a defensive lineman, playing on the Patriots’ practice squad until switching to offensive guard in 2022.

He spent two seasons with the Chicago Bears before re-signing with the Patriots this season.

The decision to add youth lines up with rookie offensive guard Jared Wilson returning to the practice field.

Wilson went down with an ankle injury just three snaps into the Week 12 road win over the Cincinnati Bengals. He was inactive last Monday against the New York Giants but seems to have progressed well in the bye week.