The New England Patriots added safety Elliott Davison to the practice squad Thursday, creating new roster depth before their Sept. 9 regular-season opener at Seattle, according to a report by ESPN correspondent Mike Reiss.
With special-teams captain Brenden Schooler already sidelined for at least four games, the move is designed to help a safety room that looked thinner than even a week ago.
New England signed Davison and released defensive tackle Jalen Hunt from the practice squad in a corresponding move, according to an official Patriots.com signing announcement. Hunt had joined New England’s practice squad just two days earlier after arriving from Jacksonville, and he played three seasons at Michigan State before finishing his college career at Cincinnati, totaling 47 tackles and 3½ sacks across 48 games.
Davison, 24, entered the league as an undrafted rookie out of the University of Texas at San Antonio, signing with the New Orleans Saints in April 2025. He spent last season on New Orleans’ practice squad, agreed to a reserve/future contract in January, then went back to Saints training camp this summer before New Orleans waived him on Aug. 30.
The 6-foot, 200-pound defensive back has yet to appear in a regular-season NFL game. His college path began with three seasons at the University of the Incarnate Word before he transferred to UTSA, where he started all 13 games in 2024 and finished with 58 tackles, according to the UTSA Athletics official website.
During the 2025 preseason with New Orleans, Davison recorded four tackles against the Chargers, four more against the Jaguars and one against the Broncos, enough of a special-teams showing to stick around the Saints’ practice squad all season.
Davison grew up in Tyler, Texas, and starred at Robert E. Lee High School before beginning his college career at Incarnate Word. He earned a bachelor’s degree in management from UTSA in December 2024, and his younger brother, Isaiah, played college football at Hendrix College.
Elliott Davison Joins Thin Patriots Safety Room
New England’s top four safeties, Kevin Byard III, Craig Woodson, Jaylen Reed and Dell Pettus, remain on the active roster, but the depth behind them has thinned in a hurry. Schooler landed on the non-football injury list before cutdown day, and rookie Eric Butler was waived from injured reserve earlier this week, Patriots.com‘s Evan Lazar noted in a breakdown of the initial roster.
Reed is still adapting to New England’s defense after arriving from Houston in the Kayshon Boutte trade, and Pettus operates mostly as a special-teams specialist rather than a full-time piece on defense. Veteran Mike Brown, already on the practice squad, remains the more experienced option at the position.
Swapping a defensive tackle for another safety body suggests New England valued secondary and special-teams depth over adding a third practice squad lineman, especially with Schooler’s absence already thinning the coverage units.
Practice Squad Path for Elliott Davison
Practice squad players can be elevated to the active roster up to three times in a regular season before facing waivers, and Davison’s realistic path to an early call-up still runs largely through an injury elsewhere in the secondary.
Brown’s experience likely puts him first in line for any elevation, and the four healthy safeties on the active roster cover most scenarios New England will face against Seattle and beyond this season.
Still, Davison gives the Patriots a young body with special-teams upside. If the injury bug hits the back end of New England’s defense, he becomes the kind of practice squad piece who can turn in meaningful playing time.
Patriots Sign Ex-Saints Safety Before NFL Opener vs Seahawks