As a result of second-year man Harvey Langi missing considerable practice time over the course of the summer, the New England Patriots opted to release him during September’s roster cutdowns. While there were rumors of him joining the team’s practice squad, he was never signed and remained on the open market – until yesterday: according to the NFL’s transactions wire, the New York Jets have signed the 26-year old to their practice squad.
Langi originally joined the Patriots in 2017. After he went unselected during the draft, the Patriots signed him to a free agency contract. Over his first NFL offseason, Langi quickly established himself as a player worth keeping in the fold: following a strong training camp and preseason, the Brigham Young product made New England’s 53-man roster and started his rookie year as a developmental depth option at linebacker.
However, his season came to a quick end on October 13: Langi and his wife, Cassidy, were waiting in their car at a red stoplight when they were rear-ended by a driver going 50 mph. The couple survived the crash but not without suffering serious injuries. Cassidy sustained fractures to both her hips as well as broken ribs, Harvey injured both his neck and his head – injuries that would keep him off the football field for the rest of the season.
Seven months removed from the near-fatal car crash, Langi was back on the Patriots’ practice fields during organized team activities and minicamp – one of the feel-good stories of the year. Practicing without any visible physical limitations, the second-year defender was in a position to fight for a roster spot at the linebacker position. However, his bad luck returned: he suffered an internal laceration and was held out for the entire preseason – which ultimately led to his release.
Langi is not the first ex-Patriot dealing with injuries to join the Jets: in May, the team also claimed former third-round draft pick Antonio Garcia on waivers. Garcia missed all of his 2017 rookie season due to blood clots in his lungs and was let go by the Patriots after the team acquired Isaiah Wynn and Trent Brown over draft weekend. However, the Troy product did not turn his career around in New York and was released again in late August.