FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots announced that that they have signed OL Ben Braden, TE Paul Butler and TE Alex Ellis. Terms of the contracts were not announced.
Braden, 26, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the New York Jets out of Michigan May 5, 2017. The 6-foot-6, 329-pounder spent the entire 2017 season on the Jets practice squad and split the 2018 season between the practice squad and the 53-man roster for the Jets, seeing action in the final two games of the season. Last year, he spent time on the practice squads for Green Bay and the Jets before being signed to the Jets 53-man roster and seeing action in the regular-season finale. Braden was released by the Jets on Aug. 3, 2020.
Butler, 27, was originally signed by the Oakland Raiders as a rookie free agent on May 7, 2018, out of California (Pa.). The 6-foot-6, 250-pounder spent the 2018 season on the Raiders practice squad before being signed to the 53-man roster for the final two games of the season, although he was inactive for those games. After spending part of the 2019 season on the practice squad for the Raiders, he was released on April 15, 2020, and claimed off waivers by Detroit. Butler was released by Detroit on May 5, and re-signed by the Raiders May 28, before being released on Aug. 3.
Ellis, 27, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Tennessee Titans out of Tennessee on May 9, 2016. The 6-foot-4, 253-pounder was released by Tennessee after training camp. He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars to the practice squad on Sept. 5, 2016, and added to the 53-man roster on Nov. 26, playing in six games and recording three receptions for 11 yards. Ellis was released by Jacksonville after training camp in 2017 and spent part of the 2017 season on the New Orleans Saints practice squad. He played in two games for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018 before landing on injured reserve. Ellis spent time on the practice squad and the 53-man roster with the Philadelphia Eagles last season, seeing action in three games. He was released by Philadelphia on July 17, 2020.
