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Patriots Quietly Add Former Bills' O-Lineman Ahead of Week 4 Matchup

New England signed a member of Buffalo's offseason roster this week ahead of a critical divisional matchup in the AFC East against the Bills at Highmark Stadium on Sunday.
Dec. 14, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots' head coach Mike Vrabel reacts from the sideline as they take on the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium.
Dec. 14, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots' head coach Mike Vrabel reacts from the sideline as they take on the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

At this point of the season, the New England Patriots are reeling heading into Week 4 with a matchup against the Buffalo Bills on the horizon.

Injury-riddled and desperate for a turnaround, the Patriots have put themselves in a tough spot heading into their upcoming AFC East battle with the Bills at Highmark Stadium on Sunday.

Bills ON SI has covered the hindered areas that Buffalo must exploit throughout the past few days.

One such area is the interior of the offensive line, specifically at right guard. 

Patriots bring former Bills’ UDFA on board

Da'Metrius Weatherspoon lifts his Syracuse Orange teammate in the air during the Aflac Kickoff game in August 2025.
Syracuse offensive lineman Da'Metrius Weatherspoon (57) lifts a teammate in celebration after a touchdown during the Aflac Kickoff Game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Syracuse at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga., on August 30, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

And, with that being the case, New England decided to bring in a player to the practice squad this week that should be a familiar face to Bills’ fans in Western New York: rookie offensive lineman Da’Metrius Weatherspoon.

A 2026 undrafted free agent out of Syracuse University, the 23-year-old spent all offseason with Buffalo before being released by the team during final roster cuts on August 30.

At 6-foot-6, 319 pounds, the former Syracuse lineman also played at Howard University (2021-2023) before joining the ACC program for the past two seasons.

A one-time HBCU All-American at Howard before making the jump in competition, Weatherspoon started 22 games for the Orange between his junior and senior seasons, which included 10 at left tackle, 11 at right tackle, and one at left guard.

Weatherspoon was impressive in college, could provide information from time with Bills

New England Patriots' head coach Mike Vrabel reacts on the sidelines at the old Highmark Stadium.
Oct. 5, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; New England Patriots' head coach Mike Vrabel reacts during the second half at Highmark Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Appearing in 817 snaps as a senior (721 snaps at RT, 95 snaps at LG), Weatherspoon was Syracuse’s highest-graded player (min. of 5 games played) in 2025 according to Pro Football Focus after allowing just four sacks and one quarterback hit on 493 pass-blocking snaps. 

With that in mind, what might the Patriots be thinking with the addition of Buffalo’s former UDFA signing?

Well, just as New England did earlier this fall with the signing of two other former Bills’ players, the Patriots are potentially looking to glean any information they can from Weatherspoon ahead of their matchup in Western New York this weekend.

So, although the former Orange starting offensive lineman likely won’t see the field as a call-up from the practice squad for Sunday, he could very well still be a key figure in the plans of Buffalo’s divisional foe.

New England likely hoping to wreak havoc up front in Week 4

Buffalo Bills' quarterback Josh Allen is sacked by Los Angeles Chargers' linebacker Daiyan Henley in Week 3.
Sep. 27, 2026; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills' quarterback Josh Allen (17) is sacked by Los Angeles Chargers' linebacker Daiyan Henley (0) in the second half at the new Highmark Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Coming off a game against the Los Angeles Chargers last week where quarterback Josh Allen was sacked a season-high four times, the Patriots are likely hoping they can cause similar chaos up front for Buffalo’s offensive line in the coming days.

And, what better way to get any inside tricks of the trade from the Bills’ linemen than to add a player who used to be a teammate in Orchard Park?

It’ll be interesting to see if the sneaky addition to the practice squad pays dividends for Buffalo’s AFC East counterpart or not.

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JOHN GREEN

John W. Green is a contributor for Bills ON SI after previously working for USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s Bills Wire, as well as the Buffalo FAMbase blog. He is a former sports reporter for the Press-Republican daily newspaper in New York’s Champlain Valley covering local high school, collegiate, and semi-professional sports for three counties. A former associate sports editor for SUNY Plattsburgh’s student-run newspaper, Cardinal Points, which was inducted into the Associated Collegiate Press H.O.F. in 2010, John covered the school’s 2014 D-III NCAA national champion women’s hockey team. John is also the editor of BILLieve in Buffalo on Medium.com. He has a bachelor’s degree in newspaper and multimedia journalism from SUNY Plattsburgh.

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