Patriots Sign Undrafted Rookie S Brad Hawkins, Veteran S Jalen Elliott
FOXBORO — The New England Patriots have added two additional pieces to an already crowded defensive backfield.
Upon taking the field for their sixth practice of 2022 training camp, the Pats appeared to be carrying a pair of new defensive backs, wearing numbers 35 and 36 respectively.
The new numbers belonged to safeties Brad Hawkins (35) and Jalen Elliott (36), as first reported by ESPN. Both defensive backs were full participants in Tuesday’s practice.
On Monday, Pro Football Focus reported that Hawkins, a rookie safety from the University of Michaigan, would be signing with New England.
The 24-year-old originally signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in May. During his time at Michigan, he appeared in 56 games and made 31 starts with the Wolverines. The 6-1, 221 pound safety had his most productive collegiate season in 2021, compiling 60 total tackles and two forced fumbles. By the conclusion of his time in Ann Arbor, Hawkins had compiled 178 tackles, eight pass deflections and a pair of forced fumbles.
He was waived by the Falcons in July.
In addition to Hawkins, the Patriots also signed Elliott. Having played his college football at Norte Dame, the 6-0, 205-pound safety was named a team captain during his senior year in 2019. Elliott played college football at Notre Dame from 2016 to 2019.[1] He was named a captain for Notre Dame during his senior year in 2019.[2]
In May 2020, Elliott signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent Despite being released from the team during final roster cuts, he was signed to the Lions’ practice squad. Elliott saw his first on-field action at the pro level on Oct 23, 2021. He was activated from the practice squad by the Lions for the team's week 7 game against the Los Angeles Rams, and was subsequently signed to the active roster in early November.
In May, the Lions waived Elliott as part of a roster numbers crunch to make room for their incoming rookie class. The 24-year-old finished his tenure with the Lions having played in eight games (making one start), with 12 tackles to his credit.
The Patriots had also worked out free agents Devin Hafford and Daniel Wright on Monday, in addition to Hawkins and Elliott. The pair join safeties Devin McCourty, Adrian Phillips, Jabrill Peppers, Kyle Dugger and Joshuah Bledsoe on New England’s positional depth chart at saftey.
