Patriots Prevalence: New England Players Scattered Across NFL Rosters
For over 20 seasons, the New England Patriots have been the pinnacle of sustained excellence in the NFL. It's no wonder then that former Patriots continue to find their way onto other rosters.
Per a recent article from Pats Pulpit, there are a total of 105 former New England players currently on 90-man rosters across the league.
In an absolute shock (cue: sarcasm), the Las Vegas Raiders lead the NFL with 10 former Patriots on their current roster. With long-time New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels leaving the Patriots earlier in the offseason to become the Raiders' new head coach, it makes sense that he would run a similar system to the one he found success with in Foxboro.
Notable names in Las Vegas include defensive end Chandler Jones, safety Duron Harmon, running back Brandon Bolden, and quarterback Jarrett Stidham.
In an actual surprise, the Denver Broncos are tied for second place with eight former New Englanders. There are actually no notable names on the list, with each being more-or-less a practice squad journeyman that happened to find their way in Foxboro at some point in their career.
Rounding out the top five, the Houston Texans have eight former Patriots, the Miami Dolphins have seven, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers five.
Each of these teams have pronounced connections to the New England organization.
The Texans, led by former Patriots Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio, have followed a similar team-building approach to New England.
Similarly, the Dolphins already had a plethora of former Patriots on the roster.
Lastly, the Buccaneers' series of New England imports started with the most notable player in either franchise's history, Tom Brady. With a recent acquisition in offensive lineman Shaq Mason, Tampa Bay continues to establish itself as an analogue of the Patriots teams of the 2000s.
In total, 29 of the 32 teams in the NFL currently have former New England players on their roster.
With the Patriots' unprecedented success in the last two decades, Bill Belichick's coaching tree and football philosophies have become ubiquitous; it remains unsurprising that the players who have learned from the best continue to find their way onto rosters across the NFL.
