Patriots fill out roster by signing Joe Giles-Harris
FOXBORO -- The Patriots roster is back up to 90. New England filled its only vacancy by signing linebacker Joe Giles-Harris on Wednesday.
Giles-Harris has played in 17 games over the last four years after going undrafted out of Duke in 2019, spending the majority of his time on the field on special teams. Of the 517 snaps that he's played in the NFL, 319 of them have come on special teams.
Giles-Harris signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars out of college and played just five games as a rookie. His best season came in 2020 with the Jags when he racked up 20 tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack over nine games -- including three starts. Giles-Harris played 204 defensive snaps that season.
The 6-foot-2, 234-pounder played just three games for Buffalo over the last two seasons, totaling three tackles. He played exclusively on special teams for the Bills.
The Patriots are pretty set at linebacker, led by a group that includes Ja'Whaun Bentley, Anfernee Jennings, versatile rookie Marte Mapu, pass-rushers Matthew Judon and Josh Uche, Jahlani Tavai, and Mack Wilson. But Bill Belichick loves (absolutely LOVES) special teams players, and Giles-Harris will now get a shot on that unit.
Tune in to Thursday night's Patriots-Texans preseason game on WBZ-TV -- your official station of the New England Patriots! Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. with Patriots GameDay, kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and stay tuned for Patriots 5th Quarter after the game. You can also catch Devin and Jason McCourty's special "Twincast" of the game streaming on WBZ.com!
