New England Patriots set initial practice squad after cuts

The New England Patriots have set their initial practice squad roster after trimming their active roster to 53 players over the past few days.  Practice squad players can end up being extremely important for the team, especially players that already have experience with the team.

Usually, teams who release their players to get to the 53-man roster like to re-sign some of them to the practice squad.  They have familiarity with the team and have worked with some of their teammates before during offseason workouts and preseason.

Some of the players on practice squads also have legitimate starting experience too, so it’s nice to be able to re-sign those who were on the roster in the offseason to begin with.  Teams can have up to 16 players on their practice squad, and there’s reason to believe that each team will fill those spots as quickly as they can.

So, let’s take a look at the Patriots’ initial practice squad after an intense few days of trimming the roster.

Offense

• Bill Murray, DL, G
• Kody Russey, C
• James Ferentz, iOL
• JJ Taylor, RB
• Kevin Harris, RB
• Jalen Wydermeyer, TE
• Matt Sokol, TE
• Tre Nixon, WR
• Lil’Jordan Humphrey, WR

Defense 

• LaBryan Ray, DL
• Jeremiah Pharms, DL
• Harvey Langi, LB
• Cameron McGrone, LB
• Terrance Mitchell, CB
• Brad Hawkins, S

What’s nice about this practice squad is the mixture between veteran players who have starting experience like Terrance Mitchell and James Ferentz, and young players who perhaps have some potential in JJ Taylor and LaBryan Ray.

I would expect the New England Patriots to shuffle through their practice squad players throughout the 2022 season.  Some may come up to the active rosters frequently, while some might be replaced by other free agents.  However, for now, this is what the Patriots’ practice squad looks like.