The New England Patriots have begun filling openings on their active roster, and on Thursday they made the first such move. Safety guard Mike Brown, who started the regular season on the practice squad, was promoted to the 53-man squad.
Let’s assess what this decision means for the Patriots ahead of their Week 5 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Brown entered training camp in a competition with Dell Pettus for the third spot at the safety position behind Craig Woodson and Kevin Byard, and ultimately lost to the former UDFA. With Pettus on IR and ineligible to return until Week 6, however, the team has relied on the veteran to provide depth — first as a standard practice squad elevation and now as an official roster piece.
This raises the question of why they made this decision. Brown having only one elevation left likely played a role in the move: elevating him now that there is some roster flexibility effectively allows the Patriots to keep that elevation in their back pocket if they need it later.
But also, Brown is a safety in name only: He’s primarily a special teams player, which means his promotion says less about the potential return of Woodson, Byard, Jaylen Reed and Brenden Schooler off the NFI. Instead, it shows that the team values his contributions to the kicking game and views him as a player whose presence could help other players focus on different areas.
Brown’s special teams expertise has been on display in his two games so far this season. He played 86% of the available kicking game snaps over the past two weeks and was used in a base four capacity: he saw action on kickoff return, punt return, kickoff coverage and punt coverage.
Among his roles was that of personal punt protector, a position he also held during the summer. The Patriots have been forced to use multiple PPs this season, with Dell Pettus, Craig Woodson, and Jaylen Reed all getting an opportunity in the first two weeks. Since Week 3, however, Brown has been the guy and is expected to continue in that position moving forward.
Coupled with the impending return of Brenden Schooler, the Patriots have effectively bought themselves a long-term influx of quality experience in their kicking game operation.
A place left free, in theory
As noted above, Brown was the first player chosen to fill an open spot on the Patriots’ 53-man roster. There is a second such spot, and it seems relatively clear at this point who it will go to: Brenden Schooler, who returned to practice after Week 2 while still on the non-football injury list due to a back issue.
Schooler is already a full participant in practice and seems ripe to be brought back this week or next week. The team has until October 14 to reinstate him to its active roster, otherwise he would return to NFI, effectively ending his season.
While other players are now also eligible to return from their respective injury lists – OT Marcus Bryant (IR), ED Harold Landry III (PUP), LB Khalil Jacobs (IR), P Bryce Baringer (IR) – Schooler being the only one of this group currently practicing is a clear sign of what’s to come: The 53rd spot will fall to him, likely sooner rather than later.
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