Sportsnaut
The Patriots had to purge their roster recently to get down to just 53 players ahead of Week 1. Most of the cuts weren’t surprising, but a few were, including the team moving on from rookie edge-rusher Bradyn Swinson and wide receiver Javon Baker.
Former starting offensive tackle Demontrey Jacobs was another one of the casualties. Entering the offseason, it would’ve been surprising to find out Jacobs wouldn’t be on the final roster. After all, the tackle started 13 games for the Patriots last season, and even with Morgan Moses in place as the starter now, one would have assumed Jacobs would land the backup tackle spot.
Instead, Jacobs struggled to stand out this summer and was quickly overtaken by rookie seventh-rounder Marcus Bryant on the depth chart. Veteran Vederian Lowe was also kept around as another backup tackle, so Jacobs became expendable.
However, the tackle didn’t have to wait too long to find work. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Jacobs has signed with the Arizona Cardinals practice squad.
It will be interesting to see if Jacobs can eventually earn a promotion and play a role in the desert. The Cardinals currently have Paris Johnson Jr. and Jonah Williams in place as the starting tackles while Kelvin Beachum and Josh Fryar provide backup.
It’s also worth noting that the Patriots did not include Jacobs on their own practice squad. Of course, Jacobs could have decided on his own to sign with the Cardinals instead. The Patriots have three offensive linemen- Jack Conley, Mekhi Butler, and Alec Lindstrom- on the practice squad already.
As mentioned above, Jacobs played a large role for the Patriots in 2024. The lineman started 13 games at right tackle, but the results were not promising. Pro Football Focus gave Jacobs a putrid 38.2 overall grade which ranked 137th out of 140 qualified tackles. Jacobs was penalized 11 times and allowed nine sacks, both which were among the worst marks in the league.
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