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When the Las Vegas Raiders visit the New England Patriots on Sunday, two will be revisiting their former employer. And that’s if excluding running backs coach Kirby Wilson and assistant director of player personnel Dujuan Daniels.
One former Raiders player and former Patriots player reside on the 53-man rosters heading into the 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Gillette Stadium. A third resides on the NFL’s opt-out reserve list.
Here’s a glance through those few roster connections between Las Vegas and New England.
LAS VEGAS
Trent Brown, offensive tackle – The morning after New England selected Georgia offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn in the first round of the 2018 draft, Brown found himself acquired from the San Francisco 49ers. Pick No. 95 and No. 143 overall were exchanged as part of the trade. And Brown, checking in at 6-foot-8 and 380 pounds, proceeded to start all 19 games on the left side up through Super Bowl LIII. He eclipsed 1,000 snaps while earning a base salary of under $2 million in the final leg of his rookie deal. And by the opening of free agency in 2019, the Raiders had agreed to terms with Brown on a record-setting four-year, $66 million pact. The 27-year-old has started a dozen games on the right side since then, yet was among the inactives for Las Vegas on Monday night due to a calf injury.
D.J. Killings, cornerback – Killings, who opted out in August due to the Covid-19 pandemic, originally entered the league with New England as an undrafted free agent in the spring of 2017. The Central Florida product would be waived with the injury designation after his rookie preseason, and began the regular season on injured reserve before reaching a settlement. Killings went on to spend time with the Philadelphia Eagles, with whom he earned a Super Bowl LII ring while a member of the practice squad, as well as the Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers. The 25-year-old corner spent 2019 on injured reserve for the Raiders and re-signed in April.
NEW ENGLAND
Shilique Calhoun, linebacker – A three-time first-team All-Big Ten selection while at Michigan State, Calhoun landed in Oakland at pick No. 75 overall in 2016. His tenure with the Raiders brought stints on injured reserve, on the practice squad and on the active roster under head coaches Jack Del Rio and Jon Gruden. Calhoun went without a start through 26 career games, registering 29 tackles and a half-sack. The outside linebacker was not tendered as a restricted free agent in 2019, and signed with New England in May. Since then, the 28-year-old Calhoun has started one contest and played in 17. He ranked fifth on the Patriots’ special teams in snaps last campaign and forced his first fumble. And last Sunday versus Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, Calhoun notched the first solo sack of his career.