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The New England Patriots are still beefing up their interior defensive line. New England just signed former USLF standout Jeremiah Pharms Jr. (terms undisclosed) to a contract after he had a strong year in the USFL’s reboot season with the Pittsburgh Maulers.
Pharms, who is listed at 6-foot-3, 275 pounds, looks a bit bigger than that in action during the USFL’s past season.
He played some linebacker early in college, but his journey to an NFL roster has been a long and arduous one. ESPN’s Mike Reiss tweeted something of a timeline for Pharms after he signed with the Patriots.
As a member of the Maulers, Pharms recorded two sacks and established himself as a disruptive force on his team’s interior defensive line with 50 tackles in 14 games. At this point, there aren’t many major expectations on Pharms, whose father played in college, the Arena Football league, and briefly with the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad. However, the Patriots’ coaching staff may be looking for multiple versatile running mates for Christian Barmore.
Heading into training camp, the Patriots are likely to have veteran nose tackle Lawrence Guy next to Barmore to start. There’s also Davon Godchaux, Byron Cowart (who spent 2021 on IR), Carl Davis, Sam Roberts, the oft-injured but promising LeBryan Ray, and now Pharms.
It may be an uphill battle for Pharms, whose chances of making the roster could be augmented by injuries in front of him. At the very least, he will be getting an opportunity to show what he can do at the NFL level. If he doesn’t stick with the Patriots, his efforts and the impressions he makes could lead to opportunities elsewhere if not on New England’s practice squad.
Patriots Rookies Have Reported to Camp
Pharms will likely join the group of first-year players on the Patriots roster who have begun reporting to Foxborough to prepare for the 2022 season. The Patriots’ official website released several images of first-year players like Cole Strange, Kevin Harris, Bailey Zappe, and others going through the paces.
One noteworthy sight was of Marcus Jones, the dynamic slot corner and kick returner the Patriots drafted in the third round back in April. Jones was recovering from shoulder surgery during OTAs, but he looked to be mobile and perhaps fully available for the early activities. Keep an eye out for him once the action goes to the next level.
He has the potential to be one of the biggest needle movers of the players the Patriots drafted this season.
Patriots Notes and Quotes
- Matthew Judon is Celebrating a Famous New Twitter Follower
Only a small handful of Patriots are active and/or entertaining to follow on social media. Matthew Judon is one of them. Apparently, NBA Hall-of-Famer Tracy McGrady agrees. Judon recently realized McGrady was following him on Twitter and took to the platform to celebrate.
- Patriots Rookie Rocking a New Mustache
Zack Cox of NESN posted this image of Patriots 2022 first-round selection Cole Strange during early workouts for rookies. Strange is sporting a mustache we didn’t see during the draft or his days on the college gridiron.
Strange is expected to step right into a starting spot when training camp begins. Perhaps his mustache ensures he won’t look like a rookie, at least not in the face.
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