Patriots Make Another Early Depth Move Ahead Of Week 2

The Patriots bolster their practice squad with new talent as Brayboy and Holmes join the ranks, trading off some familiar names to make room.

The Patriots reshuffled their practice squad on Monday, adding wide receiver Chandler Brayboy and outside linebacker Xavier Holmes while clearing room by releasing running back Hassan Haskins and safety Elliott Davison.

Brayboy, 25, comes in after spending his rookie regular season with the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad in 2025. The 6-foot-1, 199-pound Elon product originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent and was waived at the 53-man roster deadline in August.

In college, he built a long résumé as an FCS All-American, CAA Special Teams Player of the Year and Phoenix team captain. His career at Elon covered 55 games and 46 starts from 2019 on, and he finished with 2,660 receiving yards, 245 rushing yards, 1,568 kickoff return yards and 22 all-purpose touchdowns.

Holmes, 24, is back in the building after first showing up for rookie minicamp in May as an undrafted tryout and later signing his first NFL contract with New England. The 6-foot-2, 252-pound outside linebacker was cut after the preseason finale in August.

He spent 25 games at Maine before moving on to James Madison for his fifth year of NCAA eligibility. In 14 appearances as a redshirt senior for the Dukes in 2025, Holmes posted 30 tackles and six sacks, along with one fumble recovery, one interception and one blocked kick.

To make the roster math work, the Patriots moved on from two players who had recently been part of the practice squad. Haskins, 26, signed with New England on the eve of the preseason opener after a workout visit, then returned to the practice squad after being released at the end of August.

The 6-foot-2, 228-pound back entered the NFL as a fourth-round pick in 2022 at No. 131 overall and has also spent time with the Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Chargers. In 44 career games, the former first-team All-Big Ten standout from Michigan has 76 carries for 229 yards, 18 catches for 119 yards, three touchdowns and one start, plus 371 offensive snaps and 683 special teams snaps.

Davison, 24, joined the Patriots’ practice squad shortly after September began. The 6-foot, 200-pound safety entered the league in 2025 as an undrafted free agent from UTSA.

He spent his rookie regular season on the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad and was kept on a futures contract in January. After 141 snaps on defense and special teams during his second preseason in the NFC South, he cleared waivers at the 53-man roster deadline.

In Other News...

Patriots Fans Got An Immediate Reminder Of The Stefon Diggs Debate

Stefon Diggs wasted little time making an impact in his Washington Commanders debut against the Philadelphia Eagles, finding the end zone on a 10-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. It was the kind of moment that instantly pulls New England back into the familiar debate around what the Patriots had in him, and what they decided they could live without after moving on from him after just one year of his contract.

Diggs night also carried the sort of edge that has always come with him, as his touchdown celebration drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that affected Washingtons chance to line up for a two-point try. Even so, the bigger takeaway for Patriots fans was harder to miss: the veteran receiver still looked very much like a player who has not regressed, which only sharpens the hindsight around New Englands call. [Read more 🡒]

Patriots Already Face A Reggie Gilliam Question After Week 1

Reggie Gilliams first game in a Patriots uniform offered a small but interesting glimpse into how New England may want to use him. In the season opener, the fullback was on the field for 13 offensive snaps and spent most of that time doing the dirty work as a blocker, while the passing game never looked his way. Even with Rhamondre Stevenson handling most of the carries, the Patriots ground game never really got going against Seattles defense, which left the offense searching for any sort of edge on early downs.

That puts Gilliam in the middle of a subtle but important question for a team trying to get its run game moving. With A.J. Brown sidelined by injury, New England may need to lean harder on personnel that can help it create cleaner looks and more stability on the ground, and Gilliam fits that description as a potential piece of the answer. Whether his role grows quickly will say a lot about how the Patriots want to attack defenses after a Week 1 opener that exposed some familiar issues. [Read more 🡒]

Patriots Have A Kyle Williams Decision They Cant Keep Delaying

Kyle Williams made the kind of preseason case that usually forces a coaching staff to take notice, catching a touchdown in each exhibition game and piling up 166 yards on six receptions. Still, when the regular season opened, the second-year receiver was not featured nearly as much as his August production suggested he might be, a reminder that preseason momentum does not always translate immediately once the games start counting.

Mike Vrabel has already signaled that Williams is part of the plan and should get more chances as the season unfolds, and the path there looks even clearer with injuries thinning out the receiving group. The Patriots do not have to force the issue right away, but they also cannot keep putting off the question of how much they want to lean on a player who keeps giving them reasons to use him. [Read more 🡒]