The New England Patriots have continued to fine-tune their roster ahead of the 2026 season opener, signing 24-year-old safety Elliott Davison to the practice squad and releasing defensive tackle Jalen Hunt in a corresponding move, via Spotrac.com’s NFL transaction log.
Davison, a 6-foot, 200-pound first-year defensive back, entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the New Orleans Saints on April 4, 2025, after starring at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
He spent the entire 2025 season on New Orleans’ practice squad, then signed a reserve/future contract and returned for Saints training camp this summer. New Orleans waived him on Aug. 30. He has yet to appear in a regular-season NFL game.
The timing is notable. New England opens the regular season Wednesday night at Seattle, and the secondary depth chart is thinner than it was a week ago.
Special-teams captain Brenden Schooler is already expected to miss at least four games, leaving the Patriots looking for extra bodies who can contribute on coverage units and provide emergency safety depth. Davison joins veteran Mike Brown as the second safety on the practice squad. The active-roster group includes Kevin Byard, Craig Woodson, Dell Pettus and trade acquisition Jaylen Reed.
Davison’s path to Foxborough started in Tyler, Texas, where he played at Robert E. Lee High School. He spent three seasons at the University of the Incarnate Word before transferring to UTSA. In 2024 he started all 13 games for the Roadrunners and finished with 58 tackles.
Across two seasons in San Antonio, he recorded 98 tackles, two interceptions and five pass breakups in 26 games. In last year’s Saints preseason he showed enough special-teams value to stick on the practice squad all year.
Hunt’s stay in New England was brief. The 25-year-old defensive tackle had been signed to the practice squad only two days earlier after being released by Jacksonville.
A former Michigan State and Cincinnati player, he never got a chance to settle in before the Patriots swapped the spot for another defensive back.
Practice-squad signings are rarely glamorous, but they are how teams stay ready for the grind of a 17-game season. Davison gives New England a young, inexpensive safety who already knows the week-to-week rhythm of an NFL practice week.
Whether he ever sees a regular-season snap will depend on injuries, special-teams performance and how quickly he picks up Mike Vrabel’s scheme.
For now, he is one more name on a 17-man practice squad as the Patriots prepare for Seattle.
