One of the players brought in, offensive tackle Jalen McKenzie, has since been signed to the practice squad.
The New England Patriots’ roster and practice squad are not set in stone, but rather a living organism that needs to be nurtured. Part of that process is finding suitable depth options to be brought aboard in case a need arises.
The Patriots did just that on Monday, when they signed offensive tackle Jalen McKenzie to their practice squad. McKenzie, a three-year veteran of the NFL, was not the only player the team recently showed interest in: in addition to him, New England had four other players in town on a tryout basis.
Wide receiver Shedrick Jackson, offensive tackle Julian Pearl, defensive lineman Owen Porter and linebacker Kalen DeLoach all visited Foxboro on Monday as well. And while they remain unsigned for the moment, the team has at least shown interest in their services.
Jackson, 24, entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2023. The Auburn product started his career on the team’s practice squad but was eventually promoted to the active roster, seeing action in one game and registering a special teams tackle.
Pearl, 24, did not hear his name called in this year’s draft and instead joined the Baltimore Ravens as a UDFA. The Illinois product played 71 snaps for the team over three preseason contests, but was let go ahead of roster cutdowns.
DeLoach, 24, went undrafted out of Florida State earlier this year. A veteran on 38 college starts, he spent the summer with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and appeared in two preseason games as an off-ball linebacker and special teamer.
Porter, 24, went undrafted this year as well despite coming off a quality season at Marshall. He eventually ended up with the Minnesota Vikings, registering five quarterback pressures in three preseason games.
Following their mini-bye after a Thursday night loss against the New York Jets, the Patriots returned to practice on Monday. They will travel to San Francisco on Friday to play the 49ers in a Week 4 bout on Sunday, Sept. 29, at 4:05 p.m. ET.