Elliott Davison was cut by the New England Patriots from their practice squad on Monday. On Tuesday, Davison was a Patriot again.
New England re-signed the first-year safety and released tight end Shane Zylstra from the practice squad in a corresponding move, the team said in a statement posted to its official roster transactions page. Beat writers Mark Daniels, Christopher Price, Sophie Weller and Mike Kadlick all confirmed the same pair of moves within hours, according to Pats Pulpit‘s joint report on the roster swap.
New England is 0-1 after a 13-10 loss at Seattle on Sept. 9. The Pittsburgh Steelers arrive at Gillette Stadium on Sunday for New England’s home opener, and every practice squad decision is influenced by that game.
Elliott Davison’s Long Road to New England
Davison, 24, is a 6-foot safety out of UTSA who has never appeared in a regular-season NFL game. He started all 13 games for the Roadrunners in 2024, piling up 58 tackles, four pass breakups and a fumble recovery, and picked off two passes the year before, including a 76-yard return, according to his official UTSA athletics bio. He transferred in after three seasons at Incarnate Word, where he led the Southland Conference in interceptions, and finished his UTSA career with a bachelor’s degree in management.
The New Orleans Saints signed Davison as an undrafted free agent in April 2025. He spent the full season on New Orleans’ practice squad, signed a reserve/future deal in January and got waived after training camp on Aug. 30. New England picked him up Sept. 3, cut him Sept. 14, then reversed course a day later, a pattern first flagged when the club brought him aboard before the Seahawks game.
Why New England Chose Safety Depth Over Shane Zylstra
Special teams captain Brenden Schooler is expected to miss at least four games, thinning New England’s coverage units and its emergency safety depth behind starters Kevin Byard, Craig Woodson, Jaylen Reed and Dell Pettus. Davison had already spent 11 days learning the defense, and keeping a body who already knows the install outweighed the alternative of starting over with someone new.
Zylstra, 29, spent five seasons with the Detroit Lions after going undrafted out of Minnesota State-Mankato, where he set school records with 227 catches and 54 touchdowns and earned first-team All-American honors as a senior. His regular-season NFL line reads 35 games, 18 catches, 136 yards and four touchdowns, highlighted by a three-touchdown afternoon against Carolina in 2022, according to NFL.com.
He signed with Buffalo as a free agent in May, got released in August, then joined New England’s practice squad on Sept. 2. Two weeks passed without an elevation. With Hunter Henry entrenched at tight end and rookies Eli Raridon and Tanner Arkin already on the 53-man roster alongside waiver claim Cameron Latu, according to Pats Pulpit‘s earlier report on the Zylstra signing, New England had less use for a fifth tight end than for a defensive back heading into a Pittsburgh defense that generated pressure and turnovers in Week 1.
Patriots Re-Sign Ex-Saints Safety Just 24 Hours After Cutting Him