FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced that CB Miles Battle, DE Truman Jones, LB Monty Rice and TE Jack Westover have been signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad.
In addition, the Patriots placed C Ben Brown, S Jabrill Peppers and WR Ja'Lynn Polk on injured reserve.
The Patriots also announced that WR Alex Erickson and TE Mitchell Wilcox have been elevated to the active roster from the practice squad.
Battle, 24, was originally signed by Kansas City as a rookie free agent out of Utah on May 5, 2024 and was signed by New England to the practice squad on Oct. 15, 2024. The 6-foot-3, 197-pounder, was released by Kansas City on Aug. 26, 2024. Battle played one season at Utah (2023) after beginning his college career at Mississippi (2018-22). He played in all 13 games with two starts last season at Utah and finished with 32 total tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception. Battle began his college career as a wide receiver before being moved to cornerback midway through the 2020 season.
Jones, 24, was signed to the New England practice squad on Dec. 3, 2024. He was originally signed by Kansas City as a rookie free agent out of Harvard on May 6, 2023. The 6-foot-3, 255-pounder, spent all of the 2023 season and part of the 2024 season on the Chiefs practice squad. He was released from the Kansas City practice squad on Nov. 26, 2024. He played in 30 games for Havard and finished with 88 total tackles and 28½ sacks.
Rice, 25, was elevated to the active roster from the practice squad in each of the last two weeks. He originally entered the NFL as a third-round draft pick (92nd overall) by Tennessee in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Georgia. The 6-foot, 223-pounder, played in 35 games for the Titans with 10 starts and accumulated 110 total tackles, 2 passes defensed and 18 special teams tackles. Rice was released by Tennessee on Dec. 5, 2023 and was claimed off waivers by New Orleans on Dec. 6, 2023. Rice was inactive for five games with the Saints. He went to training camp with New Orleans this past summer and spent the beginning of the year on the Atlanta practice squad before being released on Oct. 21, 2024. He was signed by New England to the practice squad on Nov. 5, 2024.
Westover, 25, was also elevated for the games at Miami on Nov. 24 and at Arizona on Dec. 15. He was signed by New England to the practice squad on Oct. 2, 2024. The 6-foot-2, 245-pounder, was originally signed by Seattle as a rookie free agent out of Washington on May 5, 2024 and released by Seattle on Aug. 30, 2024. He appeared in 53 games during his college career and was named a 2023 All-Pac 12 honorable mention after finishing the season with 46 receptions for 433 yards.
Erickson, 32, is being elevated for the third straight week. He is a veteran of eight NFL seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals (2016-20), Carolina Panthers (2021), Washington Commanders (2022) and the Los Angeles Chargers (2023) and was signed to the New England practice squad on Dec. 18, 2024. The 6-foot, 195-pounder, was released by the Chargers on March 13, 2024. Erickson originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Cincinnati out of Wisconsin in 2016. He has played in 109 regular season games with 17 starts and has registered 112 receptions for 1,373 yards with 2 touchdowns. He has also returned 164 punts for 1,318 yards and 113 kickoffs for 2,819 yards.
Wilcox, 28, was elevated to the active roster at San Francisco on Sept. 29 and at Chicago on Nov. 19. He was signed by New England as an unrestricted free agent from Cincinnati on April 22, 2024. The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder, originally signed with Cincinnati on April 27, 2020, as a rookie free agent out of South Florida. He spent the majority of the 2020 season on the practice squad before being signed to the 53-man roster on Jan. 1, 2020. He has played in 50 regular season games with nine starts and has 29 receptions for 211 yards with 1 touchdown. Wilcox has played in seven postseason games and has added 2 receptions for 29 yards.
