The New England Patriots have made an addition to their practice squad and the new player could be a spy ahead of the divisional-round matchup against the Houston Texans.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Patriots are signing defensive end Darrell Taylor to their practice squad. Taylor was waived by the Texans this week.
"The Patriots are bringing in some pass-rush help, signing former Texans DE Darrell Taylor to their practice squad with the strong possibility of elevating him for the playoffs. Taylor was waived by Houston this week," Rapoport wrote.
While Taylor is unlikely to play any significant snaps for the Patriots even if he is elevated from the practice squad this week, he may give head coach Mike Vrabel and Co. Some intel on his former team.
Now, does that sound silly on the surface? Sure, but never, ever disregard Vrabel's desire to get a competitive advantage any way he can.
Taylor appeared in four games for the Texans this season, playing just 35 snaps on defense and 29 on special teams. He posted three tackles in total.
Taylor has shown himself to be an impactful player in the past, though. He posted a career-high 9.5 sacks with the Seattle Seahawks in 2022 and had three sacks in 375 defensive snaps with the Chicago Bears in 2024.
Overall, Taylor has tallied 24.5 sacks in 69 games over his five-year career.
While Taylor could make an impact in the pass-rush if he does see the field at some point, the veteran isn't a great run defender, as evidenced by his failure to tally a Pro Football Focus grade above 59.1 in that area during his career.
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