FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced today that G Michael Jordan has been signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad. In addition, the Patriots signed rookies CB DJ James and S Mark Perry to the practice squad and released LB Yvandy Rigby and S AJ Thomas from the practice squad.
Jordan, 26, was elevated to the active roster from the practice squad for the first two games of the season and started at left guard in both games. The 6-foot-6, 315-pounder was signed by New England to a futures contract on Jan. 24, 2024. He originally entered the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick (136th overall) by Cincinnati in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. Jordan was released by New England on Aug. 28 and signed to the practice squad on Aug. 29. He has played with Cincinnati (2019-20), Carolina (2021-22) and then spent the 2023 season on the Green Bay practice squad. Overall, he has played in 57 games with 31 starts.
James, 23, originally entered the NFL as a sixth-round draft pick (192nd overall) by Seattle in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Auburn. He was released by Seattle on Aug. 27, 2024. The 6-foot, 164-pounder, began his college career at Oregon before transferring to Auburn for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Overall, he played in 56 collegiate games and finished with 145 total tackles and 5 interceptions.
Perry, 23, originally was signed by Miami as a rookie free agent out of TCU on May 10, 2024. The 6-foot, 215-pounder was released by Miami on Aug. 27 and signed by Houston to the practice squad on Aug. 29. Perry was released by Houston from the practice squad on Sept. 10. He transferred to TCU for his final three seasons after beginning his college career at Colorado. Overall, he played in 48 collegiate games and finished with 226 total tackles, and 3 interceptions.
Rigby, 24, was signed by New England to the practice squad on Sept. 2, 2024. The 6-foot-1, 235-pounder, was originally signed by Baltimore as a rookie free agent out of Temple on May 3, 2024. He was released by Baltimore on Aug. 27, 2024. He played in 35 games during his career at Temple and accumulated 207 total tackles, 6 passes defensed and 1 forced fumble.
Thomas, 24, was signed by New England on Aug. 2, 2024, released on Aug. 27 and signed to the practice squad on Aug. 28. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder, spent the 2024 spring season with the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL, seeing action in 12 games and finishing with 23 total tackles and 3 interceptions. He originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Chicago Bears out of Western Michigan in 2022. He began his rookie year on the practice squad before being signed to the 53-man roster on Nov. 29 and saw action in five games. Thomas started the 2023 season on the Chicago practice and was elevated for one game before being released on Oct. 29.
