After the chaos of initial roster cutdowns subsided, it was time for the Patriots and the rest of the league to make free agent pickups, along with submitting their claims for players who hit the waiver wire. Fortunately for New England, it remains the same order as the draft, meaning they hold the No. 4 spot.
That helped them acquire players to address their questionable depth at several positions, as they were able to add two players from their waiver claims.
Additionally, they signed several free agents to their practice squad, many of whom address the more concerning aspects of the team following the initial cutdown process. The hope, of course, is that they will help, if needed, to round out a roster with higher expectations than the last few years, even if they are in the middle of a rebuild and likely won't be truly competitive for a few more seasons.
#Patriots HC Mike Vrabel on the roster:
— Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) August 27, 2025
“Feel like we’ve improved through training camp and need to continue to improve through this process… And then also continuing to target players whether that’s today and the next few days as players become available.” pic.twitter.com/xuUExG55ko
The Patriots continue to improve their roster ahead of the 2025 season with more additions
Waiver wire pickups
- QB Tommy DeVito
- DB Charles Woods
After a blowout loss to the Giants in the preseason finale, there was a lot of interest in the Patriots signing New York's quarterback outside Tommy DeVito. He had once been named the starter, in place of Daniel Jones, but inevitably lost the job to incoming veteran Russell Wilson.
He then fell down the depth chart behind Jameis Winston and rookie Jaxson Dart, becoming an immediate target for a Patriots team in need of a solid backup.
He's an exciting addition to a young quarterback room that has a lot of promise and could be a great group in case anything goes left for Drake Maye.
The Patriots claimed QB Tommy DeVito off waivers. DeVito went 17-of-20 for 198 yards with three touchdowns in the Giants' preseason finale against the Patriots.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) August 27, 2025
It's also important to note that, due to these two additions, the Patriots will need to release another player to make room for them. They already released WR Kendrick Bourne on Wednesday morning, so that leaves just one more spot to be made for either Charles or DeVito.
Practice squad
- RB Terrell Jennings
- LB Cam Riley
- OG Mekhi Butler
- OLB Truman Jones
- TE CJ Dippre
- CB Miles Battle
- LB Bradyn Swinson
- CB Brandon Crossley
- TE Gee Scott Jr.
- C Alex Lindstrom
- OL Jack Conley
- WR John Jiles
- WR Jeremiah Webb
- CB Kobee Minor
- DT Jahvaree Ritzie
- DE David Olajiga
*List will be updated as more names are reported
Most of those signed to the practice squad were released by the team during roster cuts on Monday afternoon, making it less surprising than their waiver wire pickups.
However, they added some good depth to the offensive line, and were able to bring back their 2025 fifth-round pick in Bradyn Swinson, who was highly regarded coming out of college, but didn't appear all that impressive throughout training camp.
He now has another chance to show what he can do on the practice squad and could earn a role on the defense in the future if he can prove himself.