The Patriots made a pair of roster moves Wednesday that will keep Dell Pettus sidelined for at least four games and give Jose Ramirez a shot on the 53-man roster.
New England placed Pettus on injured reserve after the safety hurt his ankle on special teams in the second quarter of last weekend’s 20-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. By the end of the home opener at Gillette Stadium, he had been downgraded from questionable to out, along with fellow safety Craig Woodson.
The move to injured reserve means Pettus, 25, is out for a minimum of four games. The undrafted free agent signed in 2024 carved out a role immediately in Foxborough, making the initial active roster as a rookie and appearing in all 36 games since then, plus Super Bowl LX.
The Troy product has logged 471 defensive snaps and 579 special teams snaps in his NFL career, with 56 tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble and one first down as the personal punt protector. He has also made two starts in the secondary.
To fill the opening, the Patriots elevated Ramirez from the practice squad. The 27-year-old joined the 17-man unit after the league’s cutdown deadline and now gets his first real chance with New England after recent injuries to Dre’Mont Jones and Quintayvious Hutchins on the edge.
Ramirez entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick in 2023, going No. 196 overall. The former MAC Defensive Player of the Year came up through Arizona, Riverside City College and Eastern Michigan, and has played in four career games.
His pro path has taken him from Tampa Bay, where he recorded 30 defensive snaps and 40 special teams snaps, to the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and then back to the NFL. He signed a futures contract with the Philadelphia Eagles in January before being waived at the end of training camp.
“Been a really good practice player for us,” Vrabel said of promoting Ramirez. “I think he’s improved since the time he’s been here, multiple times being recognized.
He’s taken the reps that we talk about being on the show team and using those to his advantage. So, whether they’ll be an opportunity, we’ll see, for him to be able to help us this week when we get down to the 48-man roster.”
In Other News...
Mac Jones Just Became A Painful Patriots What-If Again
Mac Jones is back in the conversation in a way Patriots fans know all too well: not as a starter in New England, but as the quarterback who left town, found a steadier footing elsewhere and suddenly looks like he may have been worth more than the return the Patriots got. After being traded to Jacksonville for a sixth-round pick following a rough 2023 season, Jones resurfaced with the 49ers in 2025 and handled starting duty well enough to reignite the old debate about what he might have been if things had broken differently in Foxborough.
The latest wrinkle is that San Francisco plans to keep him as a backup in 2026, even as his play has reportedly attracted interest around the league. Teams such as the Falcons and Commanders could be part of any trade discussion, and Jones' pending free agency in 2027 only adds another layer to a situation that feels very much alive again. For the Patriots, it is another reminder that the Mac Jones era has not stayed neatly in the past. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots May Have A Rare Chance To Buy Low On Marvin Harrison Jr
A.J. Browns injury has only sharpened the need for teams around the league to think creatively about receiver help, and it has pushed Marvin Harrison Jr. into the conversation for New England. The Patriots have been searching for more offensive weapons, and Harrisons limited early production has only added to the idea that Arizona could be facing an awkward early-stage evaluation of a highly touted young pass catcher.
For the Patriots, the appeal is obvious: a chance to buy low on a receiver whose talent still makes him worth betting on, even if the fit has not yet fully clicked elsewhere. The question is whether New England would see him as a piece that could grow with its offense and whether Arizona would even entertain moving him, but the possibility alone gives the Patriots a rare kind of swing at a premium position. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Suddenly Have A Bigger Offensive Line Problem Than Expected
The Patriots offensive line took a hit this week when Mike Onwenu was placed on injured reserve with a fractured right ankle, a setback that will sideline him at least four games and could end his season. Onwenu had been a key part of New Englands protection up front, and losing him now forces the team to adjust again in the middle of a stretch where stability on the interior has already been hard to come by.
Greg Van Roten has stepped into Onwenus starting spot at right guard, giving the Patriots a veteran replacement as they try to keep the line together. In a corresponding move, New England promoted punter Mitch Wishnowsky from the practice squad to the active roster to help fill out the depth chart, another reminder that one injury can ripple beyond a single position when the roster is already being managed carefully. [Read more 🡒]