FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — As the New England Patriots begin to prepare for their Divisional Round showdown with the Houston Texans, they are making some adjustments to their depth at some key positions.
The Patriots officially announced that cornerback Miles Battle, running back D’Ernest Johnson, tackle Lorenz Metz and receiver Trent Sherfield Sr. have been signed to the practice squad
In order accommodate their respective arrivals, defensive lineman Fabien Lovett and receiver Brandon Smith have been released from the Pats’ scout team.
Battle was released from New England‘s practice squad on Jan. 8. However, he is well-versed on the on-field operations in Foxborough. He originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs in May 2024, out of Utah. The 6-foot-3, 197-pounder, was released by Kansas City after training camp and was signed by New England to the practice squad in Oct. 2024. He was signed by New England to the 53-man roster from the practice squad on Jan. 4, 2025, and played in his first NFL game in the season-finale vs. Buffalo (1/5), finishing with two tackles and three passes defensed.
Despite being released by New England at the end of training camp this past summer, he was soon signed to the practice squad. Battle was elevated to the active roster for the game at Tennessee on Oct. 19 and saw action on special teams. He was signed to the 53-man roster on Nov. 26. Battle played in five games and accumulated three total tackles. He was released from the 53-man roster on Dec. 29 and signed back to the practice squad on Jan. 1.
Johnson was elevated by the Patriots to the active roster for three straight games in the regular season and then signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad on Dec. 13, 2025 before being released on Jan. 12. The 29-year-old played in seven regular season games over all for New England and finished with 14 rushing attempts for 25 yards and five kickoff returns for 128 yards.
A seven-year NFL veteran, Johnson has spent time with the Cleveland Browns (2019-22), Jacksonville Jaguars (2023-24), Baltimore Ravens (2025) and the Arizona Cardinals (2025). The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Cleveland out of South Florida in 2019 and played with the Browns through the 2022 season. He signed with Jacksonville as an unrestricted free agent in 2023 and then with the Baltimore Ravens in 2025. Johnson spent time on the Ravens and Cardinals practice squads earlier this season. He was released by Arizona from the practice squad on Oct. 28, 2025, after being elevated for one game with the Cardinals and then signed with New England on Oct. 29.
Metz, Sherfield Become First-Time Patriots
Metz spent the 2024 and 2025 seasons on the Tampa Bay practice squad as part of the International Player Pathway Program. The 6-foot-9, 330-pounder, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Chicago out of Cincinnati in 2023. The 26-year-old, who was born in Bavaria, Germany, appeared in 43 games with 27 starts during his collegiate career.
Sherfield is in his eighth NFL season after spending time with the Arizona Cardinals (2018-20, 2025), San Francisco 49ers (2021), Miami Dolphins (2022), Buffalo Bills (2023), Minnesota Vikings (2024) and Denver Broncos (2025). The 6-foot, 203-pounder, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Arizona out of Vanderbilt in 2018. Sherfield has played in 124 NFL games with 14 starts and has 89 receptions for 1,034 yards and 6 touchdowns.
The 29-year-old signed with Denver as an unrestricted free agent from Minnesota this past offseason and played in 10 games with three starts for the Broncos and caught 3 passes for 21 yards. He was released by Denver on Nov. 15 and then was signed by Arizona to the practice squad on Dec. 6. Shefield was elevated to the active roster and played in two games for the Cardinals in 2025.
