Practice squad defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale hints at re-signing with the Patriots

With their playoff run coming to a quick end in the wild card round, the New England Patriots have started their preparations for the upcoming 2022 offseason. One of the first orders of business was re-signing members of the practice squad to reserve/futures deals.

It appears defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale can soon be added to that list. The 28-year-old took to social media on Wednesday to post a series of pictures hinting at him having signed a new contract with the Patriots.

Ekuale tagged one of the stories shared on Instagram with the caption “Look at God man” while the others were titled “LFG” and “Run it back turbo”:

Daniel Ekuale/Instagram

Ekuale originally entered the league as a rookie free agent in 2018. After spending two seasons with the Cleveland Browns and another with the Jacksonville Jaguars, he joined the Patriots’ practice squad last September. The Washington State product remained on the developmental roster throughout the year, but was elevated to the game-day team on mutiple occasions.

As a result of these elevations, he appeared in eight games in 2021. Playing a total of 115 defensive snaps, Ekuale registered a pair of sacks as well as six tackles.

“Always ready when his number’s called,” fellow defensive tackle Davon Godchaux said about him in early December. “A guy who, even when he’s on the practice squad, he’s always in the meetings, he’s always listening, he’s always writing down things, so when his number’s called you see great things like that.“

Earlier during the week, the Patriots already signed six players to future deals: wide receivers Kristian Wilkerson, Tre Nixon and Malcolm Perry as well as running back Devine Ozigbo, offensive lineman William Sherman and place kicker Quinn Nordin.

New England handed out another futures deal on Wednesday, bringing offensive lineman Arlington Hambright into the fold.