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Patriots Re-Sign Member Of Backfield, Headscratching Decision
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- Patriots Re-Sign Member Of Backfield, Headscratching Decision
Patriots Re-Sign Member Of Backfield, Headscratching Decision originally appeared on NESN . Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The New England Patriots ' 2026 offseason was much less of a neckbreaker than the first month of head coach Mike Vrabel's employment. Still, the Patriots brought in several new players after claiming the AFC Championship.
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Among the newcomers is longtime Buffalo Bills fullback Reggie Gilliam . Gilliam played each of his first six seasons with Buffalo before signing a three-year, $10.8 million contract to join the Patriots.
Fullback is not exactly a premier position in today's NFL, so you can imagine my confusion when the Patriots' latest signing news broke.
On Tuesday evening, the Patriots announced that they have re-signed fullback Jack Westover .
Westover has made just over $1.3 million in his two-year NFL career. He is set to make just $1 million in 2026, but the fact remains that not many teams in the league carry two fullbacks. He played in all 17 regular-season games and all four games during the postseason run.
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Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is likely planning on using these two pieces as "B" backs. This involves moving the players from the typical set -- halfway between the quarterback and halfback -- to traditional tight end alignments.
They could be featured with their hand in the ground, as well as offset on the ends of the line of scrimmage. The Patriots are weak at tight end, so perhaps the staff sees Gilliam and Westover as players who can pick up the slack in that room.
The signing is a headscratcher, but not necessarily a bad one.
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