FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced that they have signed veteran DE Darrell Taylor to the practice squad and released RB Elijah Mitchell from the practice squad. Taylor spent the regular season with the Houston Texans before being released on Jan. 12.
Taylor, 28, originally entered the NFL as a second-round draft pick by Seattle in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Tennessee. The 6-foot-4, 255-pounder, was traded to Chicago in 2024 and then signed with Houston as an unrestricted free agent this past offseason. Taylor has played in 69 regular season games with 13 starts and has 118 total tackles, 24½ sacks, 5 passes defensed, 8 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery. He was limited to just 4 games with Houston this season after spending time on injured reserve.
Mitchell, 27, was signed by New England to the practice squad on Dec. 23. He entered the NFL as a sixth-round draft pick (194th overall) by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Louisiana. The 5-foot-10, 215-pounder, signed with Kansas City as an unrestricted free agent in the 2025 offseason after four seasons with the 49ers. He played in only one game with Kansas City in 2025 before being released on Dec. 20. Overall, he has played in 28 games with 12 starts and has 327 rushing attempts for 1,523 yards with 9 touchdowns and 28 receptions for 158 yards and 1 touchdown.
