The New England Patriots have started filling the openings on their active roster, and Thursday saw them make the first such move. Safety Mike Brown, who began the regular season on the practice squad, was promoted to the 53-man team.
Let’s assess what the move means for the Patriots heading into their Week 5 game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Deliberate timing
Brown entered training camp in a competition will Dell Pettus for the No. 3 spot at the safety position behind Craig Woodson and Kevin Byard, and eventually
lost out to the former UDFA. With Pettus on IR and not eligible to come back until after Week 6, however, the team has relied on the veteran to provide depth — first as a standard-elevation from the practice squad and now as an official piece of the roster.
This begs the question, why they made the move. Brown only having one elevation left likely played a part in the move: elevating him now that there is some roster flexibility effectively allows the Patriots to keep that elevation in their back pocket should they need it later.
But also, Brown is a safety in name only: he is mostly a special teamer, meaning that his promotion says less about the Woodson, Byard, Jaylen Reed and Brenden Schooler’s potential return off NFI. Instead, it is a reflection that the team values his kicking game contributions and sees him as a player whose presence might help free other players up to focus on different areas.
Special teams impact
Brown’s special teams expertise was on display in both of his games so far this season. He played 86% of available kicking game snaps over the last two weeks and was used in a core-four capacity: he saw action on kickoff return, punt return, kickoff coverage and punt coverage.
Among his roles was serving as a personal protector in the punt game, a job he filled over the summer as well. The Patriots were forced to use several PPs this season, with Dell Pettus, Craig Woodson and Jaylen Reed all getting an opportunity over the first two weeks. Since Week 3, however, Brown has been the guy and the expectation is that he will continue to fill that job moving forward.
Paired with Brenden Schooler’s impending return, the Patriots effectively bought themselves a long-term influx of quality experience into their kicking game operation.
One spot left open, theoretically
As noted above, Brown was the first player picked to fill an open spot on the Patriots’ 53-man roster. There is a second such spot, and it seems relatively clear at this point in time who it will be going to: Brenden Schooler, who returned to practice after Week 2 while still on the non-football injury list due to a back issue.
Schooler is a full practice participant already, and seems ripe to be brought back either this week or next. The team has until Oct. 14 to return him to its active roster or else he would revert to NFI, ending his season.
While other players are now also eligible to return off their respective injury lists — OT Marcus Bryant (IR), ED Harold Landry III (PUP), LB Khalil Jacobs (IR), P Bryce Baringer (IR) — Schooler being the only one out of that group currently practicing is a clear sign of what will happen: the 53rd spot will go to him, probably sooner rather than later.
