One of Mike Vrabel's old friends is joining the New England Patriots.
Thomas Odukoya played for Vrabel when he was with the Tennessee Titans. Now, he's the newest Patriots player.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Thursday that Odukoya is signing a contract to join the Pats' practice squad.
MORE: Justin Jefferson went undercover to fool the Vikings GM, and it was perfect
Odukoya has a cool football origin story.
He grew up in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
There, he was a soccer player, and he didn't start playing American football until he was 16.
He began his college football career at West Hills College Coalinga in California after sending out YouTube highlight videos of himself.
From there, he went to Garden City Community College in Kansas.
After that, it was a stop at Eastern Michigan.
MORE: This Tom Brady receiving yards stat is pretty awesome
Odukoya joined the Titans in 2022 as part of the International Player Pathway Program.
He has appeared in two NFL regular season games.
Odukoya is an intriguing physical specimen, measuring at 6-foot-6 and 253 pounds.
He's 28 years old now, and Vrabel evidently is a fan of him. That could help him stick around in New England for a while.
More NFL News:
- What Jaxson Dart does next is critical to Giants' future
- Bills' James Cook usage makes absolutely no sense
- Michael Penix Jr. validates Falcons' huge decision
- Baker Mayfield ties Patrick Mahomes in a recent NFL record
- Ja'Marr Chase has more solo tackles than Micah Parsons
- The Eagles have a clear reason for their Saquon Barkley problem