Patriots sign player from the Ravens practice squad, make another roster move

The New England Patriots had two openings on the active roster after placing TE Martellus Bennett and SS Nate Ebner on the injured reserve and they have apparently filled them with one player from the Baltimore Ravens practice squad and one player from the Patriots practice squad. New England also signed another player to their own practice squad.

According to multiple reports, the Patriots added former Ravens linebacker Nicholas Grigsby to the active roster, signing him away from Baltimore’s practice squad. The 6’0, 230 pound Grigsby was undrafted out of Pittsburgh, but runs an incredible 4.51s 40 yard dash and 6.90s three cone, along with leaping an impressive 10’4 in the broad jump.

Grigsby initially signed with the Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2016, spending half of his rookie season on their practice squad and finishing the year on their active roster and playing 130 special teams snaps in just 6 games. He was released during final cuts in 2017 and landed on the Ravens practice squad. He plays all the linebacker positions, but is likely expected to have a role on special teams.

The Patriots also brought OG Jason King back to the practice squad according to multiple reports, which means that New England must have promoted another player to create that vacancy. King spent the summer with the Patriots and spent two weeks on the Ravens practice squad.

It is unconfirmed which player the Patriots promoted, but since the Patriots don’t have an offensive tackle to promote, the injuries to Trey Flowers, Kyle Van Noy, and Trevor Reilly suggest that the Patriots could be interested in promoting Geneo Grissom. We will provide confirmation when available.

MassLive’s Kevin Duffy also reports that Chris Hogan is no longer wearing a sling, which a hopeful sign for his eventual return.

[UPDATE 5:28 pm ET] It appears as if the Patriots actually signed both Grigsby and King to their active roster to fill the two open spots. Adding King to the 53-man team provides another layer of insurance with the recent injuries suffered by offensive tackles Marcus Cannon and LaAdrian Waddle as well as the illness that kept center David Andrews out of the last two games.