FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced today that they have released DT Mike Purcell. Purcell was signed by New England on August 1, 2024.
Purcell, 33, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with San Francisco out of Wyoming in 2013. The 6-foot-3, 328-pounder, had two separate stints on the New England practice squad in 2017. Purcell spent the last five seasons with the Denver Broncos (2019-23). Last season, he played in 16 games with 10 starts and finished with 25 total tackles for the Broncos. Overall, he has played in 90 games with 45 starts and has accumulated 208 total tackles, 3½ sacks, 4 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble and 3 fumble recoveries.
Purcell spent the majority of his first two seasons on the San Francisco practice squad before joining the 49ers 53-man roster on Dec. 19, 2014. Purcell appeared in 25 games with eight starts for the 49ers and totaled 48 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble before being released on May 2, 2017. He was claimed off waivers and awarded to the Los Angeles Rams after being released by San Francisco but was released prior to the start of the regular season. He then had stints on the Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers, Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs practice squads. Purcell went to training camp in 2018 with Kansas City before being signed to Denver in 2019.
