The 2025 season was one of turnover for the New England Patriots’ safety group. Amid all the moves, however, one player proved himself a steady if seemingly underrated presence: despite being a former undrafted free agent, Dell Pettus remained on the team through coaching staff turnover and personnel changes around him.
Now heading into his third season as a pro, Pettus has shown some definitive staying power and again is in a position to earn a spot on the team.
Hard facts
Name: Dell Pettus
Position: Safety
Jersey
number: 24
Opening day age: 25 (6/2/2001)
Measurements: 5’10 3/4”, 200 lbs, 29 5/8” arm length, 73 1/8” wingspan, 8 1/4” hand size, 4.51s 40-yard dash, 7.00s 3-cone drill, 4.36s short shuttle, 33 1/2” vertical jump, 10’0” broad jump, 18 bench press reps, 6.39 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: England Patriots (2024-) | College: Troy (2019-23)
A three-star recruit out of Sparkman High School in Harvest, AL, Pettus joined Troy University in 2019 and spent his entire college career with the Trojans (even though he briefly entered the transfer portal in 2021). Taking advantage of the NCAA’s Covid-19 rules, he had five full years of production: he appeared in a combined 63 games and registered 315 total tackles as well as one interception, fumble recovery and blocked field goal each.
Despite his experience, productivity and individual accolades — he was named to three All-Sun Belt teams (2019 honorable mention; 2020 third team; 2023 second team) — Pettus flew largely under the radar heading toward the NFL. He eventually had to start his pro career as an undrafted free agent with the Patriots in 2024.
In his two seasons with the team, he has appeared in a combined 38 regular season and playoff games. He has a pair of sacks, a forced fumbles, and 63 total defensive and special teams tackles to his name.
Scouting report
Strengths: Pettus offers solid moving skills in the backend and in the kicking game, and possesses both the speed and agility to succeed in zone and man coverage looks. He combines it with an intense play style built around his physicality. While not the most imposingly-built player, he is competitive when coming downhill to fill gaps a run defender or press the pocket as a pass rusher and when following tight ends in man-to-man situations. A sure tackler who has a “hit first, ask later” play style, he additionally brings five-unit special teams experience and natural versatility to the table.
Weaknesses: Pettus’ athletic skills are adequate, but they cannot fully make up for some of the shortcomings and rawness at this stage in his development. His lack of length means that he is only marginally disruptive at the catch point, and his reactionary skills as a man coverage defender also remain a work in progress. The same is true for his processing, route recognition in zone, and discipline against against misdirection concepts. He has had some solid moments, but cannot be described as an impact player on defense.
2025 review
Stats: 21 games (0 starts) | 140 defensive snaps (10.9%), 416 special teams snaps (75.9%) | 19 tackles, 4 missed tackles (17.4%), 1 TFL, 1 FF | 2 QB pressures (1 sack, 1 hurry) | 17 targets, 11 catches surrendered (64.7%), 114 yards, 3 PBUs | 10 special teams tackles, 1 missed special teams tackle (9.1%) | 2 penalties (incl. 0 declined/offsetting)
Season recap: Even in a limited role, Pettus proved himself one of the Patriots’ few bright spots during an underwhelming 2024 season. Heading into his second year, however, there were natural questions about his outlook considering that the team changed almost all of its coaching staff. One exception was special teams, which provided some stability for Pettus.
And indeed, he continued establishing himself as a core member of New England’s kicking game in 2026. After already playing 52.9% of snaps in the game’s third phase as a rookie, he saw his playing time share jump to 75.9%. This tied him with Brenden Schooler for the highest such number on the team.
While he did see his former role as personal punt protector go to teammate Marte Mapu, he nonetheless was a crucial part of the operation as a whole. Pettus was a regular on the core four units — punt coverage, punt return, kickoff coverage, kickoff return — and also on the field goal and extra point blocking unit. He finished the season with 10 special teams tackles, which ranked fifth on the team.
Pettus’ uptick in kicking game snaps happened hand-in-hand with a decrease in defensive opportunities: the sophomore went from a 30.5% playing time share to only 10.9% in 2026.
However, some context is necessary. As a rookie, his playing time was inflated due to Kyle Dugger and especially Jabrill Peppers missing extended stretches of time. In 2026, meanwhile, the Patriots’ coaching staff preferred to play mostly out of three-cornerback packages in the secondary, without much of a rotation anywhere. This meant that Pettus became a package player whose opportunities were limited.
That does not mean he did not have a chance to positively contribute to the team, as a crucial fourth-down pass breakup against the Jets in Week 11 shows.
Overall, Pettus had a good 2026 season. His defensive role might not have been as pronounced as it was just a year prior, but he nonetheless provided quality depth while simultaneously being a vital piece of one of the better special teams units in the NFL.
2026 preview
Position: Multiple safety | Ability: Depth player/Role player/Quality special teamer | Contract: Signed through 2026 (2027 RFA)
What will be his role? Given his usage in 2026, it is fair to assume that Pettus will primarily be a special teamer again in 2027. As such, he will be a regular on up to five units and potentially also reenter the personal protector competition following Marte Mapu’s trade to Houston. As far as his defensive role is concerned, he projects as a backup behind starters Kevin Byard and Craig Woodson who is capable of lining up both in the box and as a free safety. Unless injuries happen higher up on the depth chart, however, his playing time will again be limited to select packages.
What is his growth potential? Even with his defensive playing time going down, Pettus showed some strides in 2026 and continues to be a player on an upward trajectory. His comparatively modest size and athleticism might put a cap on his ceiling, but playing on five special teams units and providing quality depth at safety nonetheless makes him a valuable piece of the puzzle.
Does he have positional versatility? Pettus has shown himself capable of lining up in several spots both on defense and special teams. As a safety, he mostly operated from the box but also lined up in the slot and back deep. Meanwhile, his five-unit ability in the kicking game also speaks for his versatility and willingness to wear multiple hats if asked to do so.
What is his salary cap situation? When he joined the Patriots in 2024, Pettus did so on a standard three-year undrafted rookie deal. He is now headed into the final year of that contract, and doing so at a relatively marginal cost: his cap hit of $1.078 million, which does qualify him for Top 51 status, consists of a $1.075 million base salary and $3,000 signing bonus proration. That bonus is the only part of his pact that is guaranteed.
How safe is his roster spot? Despite showing some promise in 2024 and 2025, Pettus’ roster spot cannot be considered safe. His defensive role is easily replaceable while his dead cap number would be negligible. That said, his experience and the apparent trust he enjoys from special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer does show that, among all the projected kicking game-first defenders on the roster right now, he appears to have a decent chance of making it onto the 53-man team after all.
Summary: The Patriots adding free agent Mike Brown to the mix in March will complicate matters for Pettus, but he ultimately still appears to be on track to make the team come late August’s roster cutdowns. After all, he is one of only two top-five special teamers from a year ago to still be with the club and also did his job well whenever inserted into the defense. He may not be flashy, but he is generally trustworthy.
What do you think about Dell Pettus heading into the 2026 season? Will he carve out a role yet again? Or will the addition of Mike Brown push him off the roster? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
