The New England Patriots are currently in Los Angeles for their two-game slate against the Chargers and Rams, but that does not mean the team is not actively trying to improve its depth or at least keep its emergency contacts list updated. Accordingly, two players were brought in for Covid-19 testing and eventual workouts on Monday per the NFL’s official transactions wire: wide receiver Devin Smith and cornerback Dayan Lake.
Let’s take a closer look at them.
CB Dayan G. Lake
Dayan Lake, who went as Dayan Ghanwoloku during his career at Brigham Young, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent signing by the Rams earlier this year. While he did participate in the team’s offseason workouts and training camp, the Coronavirus pandemic impacted the start of his pro career — he was eventually released on roster cutdown day without having had a chance to prove himself in a preseason game.
Lake, who started 43 games at BYU and registered seven interceptions, has remained unsigned since. In New England, he would bolster the cornerback depth in light of recent injuries suffered by starters J.C. Jackson and Jonathan Jones even though it seems most likely that he would join the team only via its practice squad.
WR Devin Smith
As opposed to Dayan Lake, Devin Smith did hear his name called in the draft: the New York Jets selected him in the second round out of Ohio State back in 2015. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound wide receiver never quite found his footing in New York, though, and went on to appear in just 14 games over the next three years while impacted by two separate ACL injuries. He was released by the Jets in 2018 after having caught 10 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown.
After spending the 2018 season without a club, Smith signed a futures deal with the Dallas Cowboys and eventually appeared in four games for them during the 2019 season. Along the way, he caught five passes for 113 yards and his second career score. However, he was unable to carve out a consistent role and heard his name called on cutdown day earlier this year. Smith went on to join the Houston Texans’ practice squad, but was let go again last month.