Patriot Maven MidWeek Notebook: Ferentz Promoted, Bausby Joins Patriots Practice Squad and More
The New England Patriots have begun to turn their full attention to their Week Egith matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, October 31, at 4:05pm ET from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. However, the Pats continue to make news as they start to make preparations for their journey to the City of Angels. From a new addition to the practice squad to a potential rushing milestone, here are the latest Pats news and notes, courtesy of the Patriot Maven Notebook.
Ferentz Signed to the Active Roster
The Patriots officially signed veteran offensive lineman James Ferentz to their 53-man roster on Wednesday, as confirmed by the NFL transaction wire.
Having been with the Patriots’ organization since 2017, Ferentz has served as a reliable depth option along the team’s offensive line. The 32-year-old has seen regular season action for the Pats on three occasions this season, serving as a COVID replacement in Week Five (vs. Houston Texans) and as a standard elevation in Week Six (vs. Dallas Cowboys) and Week Seven (vs. New York Jets.) During that span, he has made two starts, taking 118 snaps at left guard and 16 snaps at right guard.
Welcome to New England, De’Vante Bausby
In addition to signing veteran cornerback Brian Poole to their practice squad on Wednesday, the team also welcomed defensive back De’Vante Bausby to the Foxboro fold. The 28-year-old first joined the NFL after signing with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2015. Throughout his six-year career, he has been a member of the Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders. Through 26 games and six starts, Bausby has compiled 60 tackles and eight pass deflections; taking 794 snaps on defense and 170 snaps on special teams. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound was a former Super Bowl LII champion with the Philadelphia Eagles. He also spent time in 2019 with the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football (AAF); leading the team in pass breakups and interceptions. Bausby had worked out for the Patriots on Wednesday, October 20, but did not sign with the team until October 27.
Harris Has the Chance to Make Pats History
Though the Los Angeles Chargers are a formidable football team in all three phases, they do have a sore point, which the Pats will undoubtedly look to exploit on Sunday. The Bolts run defense has been porous, thus far in 2021. They have allowed an average of 162.5 yards per game, as well as 5.5 yards per play. While the Patriots running game has had its share of growing pains as of late, the team has run the ball quite efficiently over the past few weeks. This is largely in part due to the running prowess of feature back Damien Harris. Harris has gained 100 yards in back-to-back games with 101 yards vs. Dallas (October 17) followed by 106 yards against the New York Jets (October 24).
With the Chargers’ struggles in defending the run, Harris has a chance to reach the century mark in rushing for the third straight week on Sunday. Should he do so, the Alabama product would become the first Patriots’ running back to gain 100 yards in three consecutive games since Corey Dillon, who had a streak of four straight 100-yard games in 2004. The last time the Patriots had 100-yard rushers in three straight games was in 2007 when Laurence Maroney had 103 yards on Sept. 23, followed by 117 yards by Sammy Morris on Oct. 1 at Cincinnati and 102 yards by Morris on Oct. 7 vs. Cleveland.
