Cutdown day can be brutal, but for three Patriots rookies, Sunday brought the kind of phone call every undrafted free agent chases.
Tanner Arkin, Channing Canada, and Khalil Jacobs were each summoned into VP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf’s office with good news: they had made New England’s roster. The team captured the moment in its latest episode of Forged in Foxborough, and Wolf made it clear just how much Arkin had stood out through camp.
“You came to work every single day, busted your [butt], learned a bunch of different positions. Vrabel doesn’t lie about that,” Wolf said.
“The physicality, the toughness, the strain, the effort. Like, you embody that every day.”
Arkin gives the Patriots added flexibility at tight end and fullback, a group that still isn’t fully settled. He could still end up inactive if Mike Vrabel chooses to roll with only Hunter Henry, Eli Raridon, and Reggie Gilliam in that role. Even so, New England’s lack of depth means Arkin could become useful quickly if injuries hit, and beating out Jack Westover as a depth option says plenty about how he handled training camp.
Jacobs looks like the most likely of the three to see the field early. He plays linebacker, one of the thinnest spots on the roster, and he made a strong enough impression that the Patriots couldn’t leave him off the team.
“You did everything that you possibly could to make the team,” Wolf said. “We want to keep working with you and develop.”
Canada fits into that same category, giving New England defensive depth it clearly needs.
The Patriots have long made room for late-round picks and undrafted players who earn it. Bill Belichick was known for carrying at least one undrafted player on nearly all of his Foxborough teams, and Vrabel has shown he’ll do the same when a player earns his trust.
“Every once in a while you get a young player, an undrafted guy or a late-round guy, that comes in and just knows how to make the team,” Wolf said to Canada.
Whether any of the three can contribute in Week 1 is still to be seen, but the wait is almost over. Patriots-Seahawks, and the start of the NFL season, kicks off at 8:20 p.m. Eastern Time.
In Other News...
Patriots Latest Cheating-Style Accusation Already Has A Very Different Explanation
A social-media theory about the Patriots and their video board briefly stirred up old suspicions, but the leagues explanation pointed in a very different direction. Former NFL analytics coach Ryan Paganetti suggested New England may have used the board to create an optical illusion during field-goal attempts, a claim that fit neatly into the franchises long-running reputation for finding edges wherever it can.
The NFL, though, said the setup did not break any rules, noting its policy on video board use during kicks. Patriots football research director Ernie Adams said the mirrored image was there to help kicker Stephen Gostkowski, not to mess with an opponent, which leaves the accusation looking more like another example of how quickly anything involving New England can turn into a controversy. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Just Sent A Clear Message About DeMario Douglas Role
The Patriots first unofficial depth chart for 2026 offered an early look at how the receiver room is shaping up, and it put DeMario Douglas in a spot that matters. With A.J. Brown slotted as WR1 and Romeo Doubs at WR2, Douglas is listed right behind them as the WR3, a notable step up after the departure of Kayshon Boutte and a sign that the team sees a bigger path for him this season.
Douglas enters the year after a mixed 2025 campaign, but the coaching staff seems ready to trust him with more responsibility. Surrounded by two established veterans, he is positioned to play a more significant part in the offense, and the question now is whether that expanded role turns into the kind of steady production New England has been waiting for. [Read more 🡒]
TreVeyon Henderson Gives Patriots Fans Real Hope For Week 1
The Patriots got a promising sign on Saturday as they continued prepping for their season opener against the Seahawks, with Mike Vrabel saying TreVeyon Henderson could take part in practice for the first time since the ankle injury that had kept him out. For a New England offense trying to settle in before Week 1, even a return to the field in a limited setting would be a meaningful step for a back whose availability has been in question.
Hendersons status still matters because the Patriots are now in the final stretch of game-week prep, and every practice rep counts this close to kickoff. If he can get through Saturday and build from there, it would give New England a much better chance of having him available when the season opens against Seattle. [Read more 🡒]