New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots shook up their practice squad ahead of a Week 7 game against the Tennessee Titans.
New England announced two additions and two corresponding cuts on Thursday. The Patriots signed tight end Thomas Odukoya and defensive tackle Leonard Taylor to their practice squad, clearing space by releasing tight end Marshall Lang and defensive lineman David Olajiga.
Odukoya began his NFL career with Mike Vrabel’s Titans in 2022 as part of the league’s International Player Pathway Program. The Netherlands native spent two seasons on Tennessee’s practice squad before appearing in three games last year.
The Eastern Michigan product played most of his snaps and special teams and hasn’t recorded any NFL stats. Tennessee released Odukoya on Tuesday, three days after signing him to the 53-man roster.
Odukoya appears to have a big fan in Vrabel, who raved about the tight end before the 2023 season.
“We lucked out. We absolutely lucked out because there’s not a better human being,” Vrabel said. “And we got great people around here, but there’s not anybody better (than Odukoya) that cares about this team, that works his tail off and has really taken advantage of those reps at the line of scrimmage.”
Taylor joins New England after recording three tackles in two games with the New York Jets. The 305-pounder notched 24 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 14 games as an undrafted rookie last season.
Lang’s Patriots tenure wasn’t terribly memorable, as he joined the practice squad on Tuesday. The 23-year-old signed with the Seattle Seahawks earlier this year after going undrafted out of Northwestern.
Olajiga, meanwhile, had spent the entire season on New England’s practice squad. The Central Missouri standout from London signed in July after a 2024 stint with the Los Angeles Rams, but the 27-year-old has yet to play in an NFL game.
