FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced that that they have signed OL James Ferentz to the 53-man roster from the practice squad and elevated DL Nick Thurman and WR Isaiah Zuber to the 53-man roster from the practice squad. In addition, the Patriots have placed C David Andrews and LB Josh Uche on injured reserve.
Ferentz, 31, is a five-year NFL veteran with Houston (2014), Denver (2015-16) and New England (2017-19). The 6-foot-2, 300-pounder has played in 38 regular-season games with two starts during his career and four postseason games as a reserve. Last season, Ferentz played in 15 regular-season games and made his first two career starts – one at guard and the other at center. He was signed to the New England practice squad on Sept. 16.
Thurman, 25, was elevated to the 53-man roster for the Seattle game last week and played in his first NFL game vs. the Seahawks and made one tackle before reverting to the practice squad on Sept. 21. The 6-foot-4, 305-pounder originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Houston Texans out of the University of Houston on May 14, 2018. Thurman was released by the Texans prior to the start of the 2018 regular season. He signed with New England during the 2019 offseason and spent the 2019 season on the Patriots practice squad. He went to training camp with the Patriots this summer and was signed to the Patriots practice squad on Sept. 6, 2020.
Zuber, 23, originally signed with New England as a rookie free agent out of Mississippi State on May 5, 2020. The 6-foot, 190 pounder went to training camp with the Patriots and joined the practice squad on Sept. 6. Zuber played three seasons at Kansas State before spending his final college season at Mississippi State. He left Kansas State with 127 career receptions for 1,321 yards and 11 touchdown receptions, both top-10 marks for the school. As a senior last season, he played in 13 games with three starts for Mississippi State and caught 14 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns.
