The Patriots made a signing on Tuesday, while seeing the contracts of eight other players expire during this early portion of the offseason.
The team signed defensive back Brandon Crossley to a futures contract, with Crossley joining 13 other players who were signed this week.
Crossley was signed as an undrafted free agent on May 9, 2025, with the former standout from Southern Methodist initially joining the practice squad at the end of training camp.
However, he was released shortly thereafter and later brought back to the practice squad in Week 12. From there, he spent the rest of the year with the team until he was finally let go on January 6, 2026, as the Patriots made roster adjustments ahead of their postseason run.
Meanwhile, the team saw eight contracts expire this week, with the following players among those names:
- Richie Grant (DB)
- Darius Harris (LB)
- Brenden James (G)
- D’Ernest Johnson (RB)
- Patrick Johnson (LB)
- Thomas Odukoya (TE)
- Craig Reynolds (RB)
- Trent Sherfield (WR)
Out of this group, Johnson is probably the most notable name. The veteran running back originally signed with New England to the practice squad back on October 29, 2025, and saw a fair amount of time at various points in 2025, stepping in on both offense and special teams.
Johnson was also part of New England’s postseason run, with the veteran being the only player out of that group who saw action during the playoffs. He did see action in the Super Bowl, which came in the return game. He was in on 5 special teams snaps, which included four kickoff returns for 103 yards in New England’s loss to the Seahawks (25.8 yards per return).
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
