With a showdown against the Bills in Buffalo around the corner, the Patriots engaged in the usual gamesmanship, bringing in a pair of former Bills for workouts this week. According to Doug Kyed of NESN (Twitter link), running back Bryce Brown and quarterback Alex Tanney were among the players to get auditions from New England this week.
Brown has showed flashes of promise in the past, and Tanney has spent time on multiple NFL rosters, so the Pats were likely assessing both players as potential options in case of injuries throughout the season. But it probably didn’t hurt that Brown and Tanney were with the Bills in camp, and could provide some info on the opposition.
Here’s more out of New England:
- In addition to trying out Brown and Tanney, the Patriots also took a look at fullback Henry Hynoski, quarterback Dustin Vaughan, and wide receivers Jarrett Boykin and Austin Pettis, per Kyed.
- Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has the latest details on the NFL’s appeal of Judge Richard Berman’s Deflategate ruling, as the case figures to drag on for at least the next several months.
- Head coach Bill Belichick hinted today that newly-acquired wide receiver and return man Keshawn Martin will be more of a factor as a kickoff returner than as a punt returner, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
- The Pats made a practice squad change today, cutting wide receiver Nathan Palmer and replacing him with defensive lineman Jimmy Staten, tweets Reiss.