The New England Patriots have found a useful piece in a former Philadelphia Eagle, and it’s not A.J. Brown.
Brown, the three-time All-Pro wide receiver, is on the Patriots’ roster too, but he’s currently out with an injury. The real early impact has come from Cameron Latu, the ex-Eagles tight end and special teams standout who joined New England this offseason.
Philadelphia had hoped Latu would clear waivers and end up on its practice squad after he was waived on roster cutdown day last month. That didn’t happen. The Patriots claimed the 26-year-old and gave him a roster spot, and Latu has done plenty with it.
The 2023 third-round pick by the 49ers has already played 35 special teams snaps for New England and carved out a role as a “core four” player, working on both coverage and return units. He’s also chipped in on offense when needed.
That came into play when rookie tight end Eli Raridon went down against the Steelers in Week 2. Latu stepped in for 14 snaps and helped create room for Rhamondre Stevenson on a couple of solid runs.
One Patriots writer described him as an “under-the-radar impactful player.”
This is why the #Patriots added TE Cameron Latu (No. 36).
Excellent run blocker. Under-the-radar impactful player. pic.twitter.com/6qLg9ebisU
- Justin Trombino (@Trombino20) September 21, 2026
Eagles fans who watched Latu last season already knew what New England was getting. He played in 15 games for Philadelphia in 2025, logged 256 special teams snaps and finished with 11 tackles.
He didn’t catch a pass while playing 104 offensive snaps, but he did bring value as a run blocker. That’s a skill the Eagles could use more of right now.
Dallas Goedert is injured, and while Johnny Mundt was brought in as a primary blocker and EJ Jenkins was kept over Latu, neither has solved the problem on its own. Zach Ertz was also brought back, but the 35-year-old isn’t going to move people in the run game.
Philadelphia’s rushing attack has sputtered through two games, and the offensive line deserves most of the blame. Still, the tight ends haven’t helped much either, and the results have been ugly. Saquon Barkley, Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley are averaging just 3.7 yards per carry through two weeks.
Maybe that number would look the same even if Latu were still in Philadelphia.
Or maybe the Eagles are already second-guessing letting him slip away to New England.
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