The New England Patriots have been making tweaks to their roster on a near-daily basis, and even with their season-opening contest against the Las Vegas Raiders less than 24 hours away, they haven’t shown any signs of slowing down.
With cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez and Charles Woods both being ruled out for this game, the Pats had to make some changes to their roster. Those changes came a couple of hours before Woods was ruled out on Saturday night, and it resulted in veteran defensive tackle Jeremiah Pharms Jr. losing his spot on the roster.
“The New England Patriots signed DT Cory Durden to the 53-man roster from the practice squad and released DT Jeremiah Pharms Jr,” the team announced on their official website. “In addition, the Patriots elevated DB Corey Ballentine and LB Mark Robinson to the active roster from the practice squad.”
Pharms latched on with the Patriots in 2023 before earning a bigger role in 2024 due to all the injuries the team had along its defensive line. Last year, Pharms played in 16 games, five of which were starts, racking up 33 tackles and two sacks.
Over the offseason, Pharms signed a two-year contract extension with New England, so it wasn’t much of a surprise to see him crack the team’s initial 53-man roster. Right before the start of the season, though, the team opted to move on from him in favor of Cory Durden, who got promoted from the practice squad to the active roster.
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Durden has suited up for the Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants over the past two seasons, but his playing time has been limited. In 2024 with the Giants, Durden racked up 10 tackles in just four games of action.
Pharms could ultimately return to New England on its practice squad, or he could sign to another team’s active roster. For now, all the Patriots are concerned about is their season-opener against the Raiders, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
