The New England Patriots added two familiar veterans to the game-day roster Saturday, elevating safety Mike Brown and defensive tackle Jeremiah Pharms Jr. from the practice squad ahead of Sunday’s 1 p.m. ET matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium, via the NFL transaction wire.
Both moves are standard practice-squad elevations, meaning Brown and Pharms are expected to revert after the game. Each still has two elevations remaining this season before New England would need a 53-man roster transaction to keep either player active.
The Patriots also left a spot open on the 53-man roster.
The call-ups come after a week of defensive attrition. Safety Dell Pettus was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury suffered in last week’s win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Fellow safety Craig Woodson (shoulder) was listed as questionable but made the trip to Jacksonville. On the line, the club has already placed guard Mike Onwenu and rookie linebacker Quintayvious Hutchins on IR, and veteran edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones was ruled out on the final injury report.
Brown gives the secondary and special teams another experienced body; Pharms adds interior depth against Jacksonville’s run game.
Brown, 26, signed with New England in March after the Titans did not tender him as a restricted free agent. The 6-foot-1, 218-pound Miami (Ohio) product was released at final cuts and re-signed to the practice squad a day later.
An undrafted free agent in 2022, he bounced among the Packers, Vikings and Browns practice squads before landing on Tennessee’s 53-man roster in 2023, where he started five games.
Team materials list him with 38 career games, five starts, 45 tackles, two passes defensed and 15 special-teams tackles. Last season he played nine games before an injury cut his year short. Defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr has praised Brown’s work in practice.
Pharms, 29, has been in the Patriots organization since July 2022 after a stop with the USFL’s Pittsburgh Maulers. The 6-foot-2, 300-pounder was waived at the cutdown deadline this summer and immediately signed back to the practice squad.
He has played 31 games with five starts for New England, totaling 45 tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery. He finished last season’s Super Bowl run on the practice squad and signed a futures deal to return.
This is his first elevation of 2026.
Neither player is likely to start, but both fit a pattern under head coach Mike Vrabel: trusted veterans who know the system and can contribute on defense and special teams if injuries pile up.
For one afternoon in Duval County, that experience is on the active roster.
