Cassh Maluia, the New England Patriots‘ fifth-round selection in the 2020 NFL Draft has been re-signed and promoted to the team’s 53-man roster.
After the Patriots placed free-agent-signee defensive tackle Beau Allen on injured reserve, the team turned to Maluia, who cleared waivers after being released last week. The Patriots added Maluia to their practice squad, but his stay there was short-lived as Bill Belichick and Co. elected to go with some depth at linebacker to replace Allen.
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What Cassh Maluia Brings to the Patriots’ 53-Man Roster
Patriots LB coach Jerod Mayo was impressed with Maluia during training camp. He especially called attention to the Wyoming alum’s athleticism. However, Mayo did point out that Maluia still needed some work in the classroom.
“I think first and foremost, you’ve got to start with just his overall athleticism,” Mayo said. “He can run, he’s fast, he can do a lot of different things there. We’ve just got to focus on the classroom with Cassh. Hopefully, he can contribute, not only on defense but also in the kicking game, but we’ll see. It’s tough coming in here as a rookie. It’s tough coming in and really being able to display your athleticism when you’re thinking so much. Cassh, hopefully, he continues trending in the right direction, but we’ll have to wait and see for the next couple of weeks.”
Considering he was a fifth-round selection, that’s not a bad evaluation coming from someone who knows the Patriots’ linebacker concepts as well as anyone.
What’s The Timetable on Beau Allen’s Return?
Allen was expected to replace the now-departed Danny Shelton as a run-stuffing nose tackle who could perhaps be a little more of a factor against the pass. However, Allen was unable to practice through the abbreviated training camp, and thus the Patriots couldn’t feel comfortable putting him into action in Week 1 vs. the Miami Dolphins.
Allen will be eligible to come off the injured reserve list after Week 3, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see him needing more time to get up to snuff overall. As of now, the Patriots still have Adam Butler, Byron Cowart, and the versatile Lawrence Guy that they can move around, but even with them, that part of the roster looks a bit thin.
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Patriots Re-Sign Athletic Inside LB for 53-Man Roster