Pats Pulpit
Mike Vrabel served as a coaching and personnel consultant last season for Sunday’s visitors. Ashton Grant served as an offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach, too.
Other familiar faces remain on the staff there. But additional connections can be found between the active rosters, practice squads and reserve lists of the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots. Eight currently in the fold have been members of both clubs during their NFL careers.
Here’s a glance through that list of players as the 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Gillette Stadium nears.
Bailey Zappe, quarterback — The Browns signed Zappe to practice squad at its formation in August. It marked a return to the AFC North for the 26-year-old quarterback. He had previously been signed to the 53-man roster last fall and went on to start the season finale. In between arrived two separate stints with the Kansas City Chiefs. The former record-setter by way of Houston Baptist and Western Kentucky entered the NFL in Foxborough in the fourth round of the 2022 draft. Zappe appeared in 14 games during his stay with the organization that called him at pick No. 137 overall. He completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 2,053 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions before departing at the end of the 2024 preseason.
DeAndre Carter, wide receiver — Carter was placed on injured reserve due to a knee injury as September closed. The 32-year-old stands 111 games into his NFL run. It began as an undrafted free agent out of Sacramento State in 2015. Originally setting out with the Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens, Carter landed at Gillette Stadium in December of his rookie campaign. He was retained on a futures contract after logging time on the practice squad and caught a touchdown during the 2016 preseason. The veteran has toured the league since then. Scoring seven touchdowns, his career includes 117 receptions for 1,331 yards, 16 rushes for 99 yards, 155 punt returns for 1,508 yards and 144 kickoff returns for 3,399 yards.
Thayer Munford Jr., offensive tackle — The Browns retained Munford on the practice squad last week after he cleared waivers. The veteran offensive tackle had been signed to the 53-man roster by way of the Patriots’ practice squad in late September. He resided among the inactives for three consecutive games from there. Selected in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft out of Ohio State, Munford spent his initial three campaigns in the AFC West. The former No. 238 overall pick appeared in 46 games, including 18 starts, as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders and saw 1,088 offensive snaps between the bookend spots and eligible tight end.
Tre Avery, cornerback — Now on the 53-man roster, Avery served as a three-time standard elevation upon joining Cleveland’s practice squad in September. The 28-year-old cornerback was claimed off waivers by New England amid training camp. He saw 41 snaps between defense and special teams in the preseason before being let go ahead...
