The curious case of Brock Vereen
Yesterday, the New England Patriots announced the release of safety Brock Vereen. In the midst of joint practices with the Chicago Bears, you may not have heard the curious story of Vereen over the past few days; here it is.
Vereen, younger brother of former Patriots running back Shane Vereen, was selected by the Bears in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He started in four of 16 appearances for the Bears as a rookie, racking up 39 combined tackles and an interception in that action.
However, Vereen’s sophomore season with the Bears was cut short when the team released him in late September of last year. A few days later, the Minnesota Vikings signed Vereen to their practice squad, where he spent six weeks before being released once again.
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The Patriots came into the picture at that point and signed Vereen to their practice squad. In late January, Vereen was signed to a futures contract with the Patriots, and he was considered to be a contender for a spot on the 2016 final roster this summer.
Sure enough, Vereen had been having a good training camp up until… he decided to retire, according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald.
Brock Vereen has retired. Wow. Had a good camp.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) August 15, 2016
But then Vereen had a change of heart… but apparently the Patriots weren’t too pleased with his initial decision, and they decided to release him.
Here's one I don't think I've seen before: Brock Vereen has been reinstated from the retirement list after 24 hours, but the Pats cut him.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) August 16, 2016
This is one of the more head-scratching stories we’ve seen out of New England on the personnel front in some time. There has been a trend of young NFL players retiring early, but you have to think that this is not concussion/head trauma related, as Vereen hasn’t played in a regular season game in two years.
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It’s too bad, because Vereen had been showing well this summer and was in good standing to at least make the practice squad and provide safety depth behind the likes of Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung, Duron Harmon and Jordan Richards. Oh well, I’m sure Vereen had his reasons. It’s his life.
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We wish Vereen luck in whatever follows next, football or not.