Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots have expressed interest in a quartet of free agents. Wide receivers Brenden Rice and Rakim Jarrett, tight end Drake Dabney and interior offensive lineman Aiden Williams were all in town for tryouts on Tuesday.
Even though the Patriots have one open spot each on their 53-man roster and their practice squad
Rice, 23, is the most prominent player on the list. The son of Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice, he started his college career at Colorado before transferring to USC in 2022. As one of quarterback Caleb Williams’ favorite targets, he caught 84 passes for 1,402 yards and 16 touchdowns in 26 games as a Trojan.
A seventh-round pick by the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2024 draft, he was unable to duplicate his success in the NFL. Appearing in three games as a rookie, he played just 13 combined snaps between offense and special teams without registering any statistics. Rice was released by the team ahead of this year’s roster cutdown deadline and has been on the open market ever since.
Jarrett, 24, entered the NFL as a rookie free agent out of Maryland in 2023. Originally with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he appeared in 20 games over two seasons and hauled in 13 passes for 184 yards. He too was released ahead of this year’s roster cuts deadline, but briefly found a home with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice squad. He was released last week, leading up to Pittsburgh’s game in New England.
Dabney, 23, and Williams, 25, both went undrafted earlier this year.
Dabney, who caught 84 passes for 1,066 yards and eight touchdowns during his five-year college career at Baylor and TCU, started out with the Tennessee Titans. He spent time on their practice squad but was released earlier this month.
Williams saw action in 40 games at Minnesota-Duluth and appeared in one preseason game as a member of the Steelers this year. He was part of the team’s initial practice squad but let go before the regular season began.
The Patriots will host the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 28, for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff.
