Patriots Promote Veteran Safety Who 'Loves' Special Teams Role

FOXBORO — The New England Patriots entered this week with a pair of open roster spots. One of those was filled up when the team promoted safety Mike Brown from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.

Brown, who was a game day elevation for each of the last two weeks, signed with the Patriots as a free agent this offseason. In the two games that he's played in this season, he's recorded 12 defensive snaps and 42 special teams snaps. Brown has two tackles this season.

Earlier in the spring, Brown was repping as the team's third safety. He then fell down the depth chart a bit, but latched onto special teams. He was released during roster cuts in August, but rejoined the team with the practice squad.

Now, he'll be given a larger opportunity to show why the team signed him to a one-year deal.

"When you think about football, you can never be where you want to be," Brown told Patriots On SI. "I'm thankful. It's part of the journey, and I'm happy to be a part of the roster now."

Mike Brown Embraces Playing Special Teams

Aug 22, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots safety Mike Brown (33) runs off the field in the second half against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Edward Finan-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Brown's promotion comes after a wave of injuries hit the Patriots secondary. Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Channing Canada and Karon Prunty were all ruled out for this week's game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Charles Woods was spotted on the injury report with a shoulder injury, and the Patriots lost special teams ace Dell Pettus to an ankle injury earlier in the year.

There's a lot of moving pieces for the Patriots this week, but adding Brown to a more solidified role on the active roster should help some of the bleeding. He'll likely join Brenden Schooler, who Mike Vrabel said is ready to make his season debut after starting the year on the non-football injury list.

"He's a core special teams player, personal protector on the punt team and backup safety," Vrabel said of Brown and why the team chose to elevate him. "So, going to need him eventually."

Brown will become a regular on a special teams unit that's been solid to begin the season. It's part of his bread and butter as a player, and a part of his game that Brown takes a lot of pride in.

"I enjoy it. I mean, I wouldn't have a job without it," Brown said. "You got to embrace it. That's the way I feed my family. So I love it if it loves me."

Raiders Can Put Pressure On Patriots Secondary

This week will be tough for the Patriots, as they face a Raiders team who relies a lot on Brock Bowers' production. The superstar tight end has the ability to change a game, and so the Patriots' secondary will need to key in on him. Brown might not get a large dose of snaps in the defensive huddle, but all the safeties (Kevin Byard, Craig Woodson, Jaylen Reed) will be asked on to do a lot.

"Brock Bowers is unique," Brown said. "He's a big body, but he's almost like a receiver, so he can create a lot of matchup conflicts. I would say they like to run the ball, so you got to be keyed in to stopping the run and taking away the players they want to get the ball to.

"But Brock's a really good player. It's kind of weird watching him because he's so big, but he's a receiver, so it's like a very, very skilled player."

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