New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots made an intriguing move to their practice squad ahead of their divisional round playoff game against the Houston Texans.
New England signed veteran defensive end Darrell Taylor to the practice squad and released running back Elijah Mitchell from the practice squad on Wednesday. Taylor had spent the regular season with the Texans before being released on Monday.
Although Taylor is on the practice squad, it is an intriguing signing, and Vrabel said he’s someone the team wanted to sign in the offseason.
“Well, we had had conversations with him in free agency,” Vrabel said on Wednesday. “Ended up going somewhere else, and then when he became available, we got together, had a conversation, and were able to bring him in.”
Taylor was a second-round draft pick in 2020 by the Seattle Seahawks. After three seasons in Seattle, he was traded to the Chicago Bears before signing with the Texans this offseason.
However, Taylor dealt with an ankle injury, as he was limited to just four games this season, recording three tackles. His career-high is 9.5 sacks and four forced fumbles, which happened in his second NFL season in 2022.
Whether or not Taylor will be elevated to the active roster for the Patriots’ playoff game against the Texans is to be seen. But the veteran pass rusher is an intriguing signing for Vrabel’s team, given that he spent the entire year in Houston.
New England is a three-point favorite against the Texans on Sunday. Kick-off is set for 3 p.m. ET.
