The New England Patriots stood with two open roster spots. One remains.
The organization announced the promotion of safety Mike Brown from the practice squad on Thursday after the vested veteran served as a back-to-back standard elevation.
Brown, 27, reverted as the week began. The 6-foot-1, 218-pound safety has played 12 snaps on defense and 42 snaps on special teams through matchups against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills. Notching a pair of tackles this fall in a core role, he tied for the team lead with 88 percent of the workload in the kicking game during his latest call-up.
Undrafted in 2022, Brown spent time on the practice squads of the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns before joining the Tennessee Titans' 53-man roster late in his rookie season. The Miami of Ohio product remained in the AFC South until being non-tendered as a restricted free agent in March. He signed in Foxborough as the 2026 league year got underway and was retained on the practice squad after being released during August's cutdown.
Now 37 games into his NFL run, including a handful of starts, Brown has recorded 61 tackles and two passes defensed over the course of 515 snaps on defense and 802 snaps on special teams. He steps into an active safety depth chart that currently includes Kevin Byard III, Craig Woodson and Jaylen Reed. A 2025 special teams captain in Brenden Schooler, who resides on the non-football injury list , is also set to rejoin the group after having his 21-day practice clock start in September.
A recent departure returned in a corresponding move on Thursday.
The Patriots re-signed outside linebacker Jose Ramirez to the 17-man practice squad after he cleared waivers the afternoon prior.
Ramirez, 27, first agreed to terms in Foxborough as the calendar turned to September. A promotion from the practice squad to the 53-man roster followed for the 6-foot-2, 252-pound edge rusher as safety Dell Pettus landed on injured reserve last month. From there, Ramirez appeared in two road matchups. He recorded one solo tackle across 30 snaps between defense and special teams before being waived .
Entering the NFL in the sixth round of the 2023 draft at No. 196 overall, Ramirez checked into four games while a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and notched one quarterback hit. The former MAC Defensive Player of the Year by way of Arizona, Riverside City College and Eastern Michigan spent last year with the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats en route to reaching a futures contract with the Philadelphia Eagles in January.
Head coach Mike Vrabel's 2-2 side hosts the 3-1 Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. Kickoff at Gillette Stadium is set for 1 p.m. ET.
