FOXBORO --- Last season, the New England Patriots made a signing that largely went unnoticed across the league.
They added linebacker Chad Muma off of the Indianapolis Colts ' practice squad and had him stick around on the 53-man roster. All the way to the Super Bowl, Muma in seven total games and recorded seven tackles. Primarily used on special teams, the linebacker
Enter 2026: Muma, a holdover from last year and now competing in a new-look linebacker room , has become nearly a roster lock at this point for the Patriots.
They got rid of Jahlani Tavai (released), Marte Mapu (trade) and Jack Gibbens (free agency) during the spring, but added free agent K.J. Britt and rookies Namdi Obiazor and Khalil Jacobs. As far as standup linebackers go, Muma sort of got lost in the shuffle.
At first, it loked like Britt would end up winning the LB3 job out of the spring . The former Tampa Bay Buccaneer came over on a one-year deal and has a physical swagger to his game that would compliment both Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss in the starting lineup.
In the summer? Totally the Muma show. Originally repping with the second-string defense, he began to earn more snaps as the signal caller of that unit. Him and Jacobs (who's been a big riser himself) have handled extended playing time extremely well, and it's paid off for Muma.
Now, he's been working with the starters. In Wednesday's walkthrough, Muma was one of the few backups to rotate in with the top defense. In Thursday's padded practice, he opened up the first 11-on-11 team drill as a starter in a three linebacker set. It's clear that Muma, who felt like maybe just a special teamer for the Patriots this summer, has earned a role -- a large one at that -- on defense.
Buy stock in Muma making the roster right now. It's looking great.
Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New England Patriots safety Dell Pettus (24) and linebacker Chad Muma (49) celebrate after a play against the Seattle Seahawks during Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
It also helps that he has a full offseason to grow in this Patriots defensive system.
"Right now, it's all about building the chemistry with the defense," Muma told reporters earlier in the summer. "I can be out there communicating with the defense, communicating with the guys. Making sure everybody's in their right spots and play faster at that point."
Linebacker isn't the deepest position on New England 's roster right now, but Muma has certainly done more than enough to earn a spot. It's not like he's just benefiting from a weaker spot on the roster. Muma had steadily climbed the depth chart since OTAs and it's starting to pay off.
To kick off this week, Muma had probably his best practice of the summer . He broke up a pass intended for Rhamondre Stevenson and also had a run stuff in a team period. His role wasn't that large for the Patriots a year ago, but it's going to be hard to ignore Muma on this year's team.
"More time is definitely helpful," Muma said. "I got here Week 16 of last year, so it's a crash course at that point. You're just tryna learn as much as you can in such a short amount of time.
"So having a whole offseason this year and having training camp is super beneficial to me, but Vrabes (Mike Vrabel) talks about it all the time is just earning your role. I'm just tryna take that mindset every single day to earn my role."
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/patriots/onsi as Why I'm Buying the Early Patriots Training Camp Hype Around Chad Muma .
