Two players who were on the way out at Gillette Stadium ended up right back on the New England Patriots’ injured reserve.
Defensive tackle Isaiah Iton and safety Eric Butler both cleared the waiver wire unclaimed and reverted to the Patriots’ injured reserve at 1 p.m. ET on Monday.
They had been waived with injury designations ahead of Sunday’s 6 p.m. ET deadline for teams to get down to the 53-man roster.
Unless either player later reaches an injury settlement, those reversions close the book on their 2026 seasons on the final day of August.
Iton, 25, was back in New England this summer after the Patriots did not tender him as an exclusive rights free agent in March. The 6-foot-2, 277-pound defensive lineman first landed with the team in the spring of 2025, when he agreed to terms after taking part in rookie minicamp as a sophomore tryout. He was later placed on injured reserve after getting hurt one preseason ago.
His path to Foxborough has been a winding one. Iton entered the league in 2024 as an undrafted free agent and spent his rookie year on the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad. Before that, he transferred through Northern Colorado, Hutchinson Community College, Ole Miss and Rutgers.
Butler’s route was shorter, but no less crowded. The 23-year-old safety came to New England for a workout when training camp opened and signed a week into August. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound San Diego State product went undrafted in the 2026 NFL draft and had already received rookie minicamp invitations from the Las Vegas Raiders and New Orleans Saints.
At San Diego State, Butler played in 48 games and made 23 starts. He finished with 119 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one interception returned for a touchdown and two blocked punts.
The Patriots did make a different call with rookie running back Jam Miller. Rather than use a waiver designation, they reached an injury settlement with the No. 245 overall pick in April’s draft. The Alabama back cleared waivers and is now free to sign with another team.
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