Two former members of the Kansas City Chiefs organization were signed in recent days by the New England Patriots, giving them a fresh opportunity on a roster in need of a talent infusion and another chance at furthering their NFL careers.
The Patriots made official the signings of former Chiefs defensive end Truman Jones and cornerback Miles Battle over the weekend and both players even logged snaps in their first games with the team in a late-season victory over the Buffalo Bills.
Both players might be difficult for casual fans to recall since neither player appeared in a game for the Chiefs, but both were promising young rookie free agents who generated some spring or preseason buzz.
Jones is likely the most familiar of the two to Chiefs Kingdom, if at all, due to being with the team for most of the last two seasons. After putting up 19.5 sacks at Harvard over the course of three seasons, Jones inked a free agent deal following the 2023 NFL Draft with Kansas City and stuck on the team's practice squad ever since.
The Chiefs cut him in November and the Patriots signed him to the practice squad one week later. He was then signed to the team's active roster before Week 18 and had 2 tackles against the Bills in 19 total snaps on defense.
Battle was a once-heralded UDFA out of Utah who came to the NFL as a still-raw prospect despite being 24 years old. That was largely due to his positional switch from wide receiver to corner. That said, Battle was unable to differentiate himself against stiffer competiton in camp this summer and so he was let go when active roster cuts were due.
Battle signed with the Patriots at mid-season on the practice squad and remained there until the final week of the regular season when he was promoted along with Jones. Like Jones, Battle also had 2 tackles on Sunday and played one less snap overall (18).
While the boost to the active roster was a significant shift for both players, what will matter most is if the Patriots end up offering reserve/future deals to them for the '25 season