Patriots Sign Rookie Defender After Devastating Injuries

Ahead of a Thursday Night Football divisional showdown with the New York Jets, the New England Patriots were forced to shuffle up some of their roster to deal with injury concerns on the defensive side of the ball.

Patriots outside linebacker Oshane Ximines was placed on injured reserve, and defensive end Jamree Kromah was signed by the Patriots from the Chicago Bears practice squad to fill the roster spot vacated by Ximines.

Patriots News: New England Adds Jamree Kromah Ahead of Week 3

Kromah spent the first three seasons of his collegiate career at Rutgers, before playing his final two seasons at James Madison. The 24-year-old was a gamewrecker at James Madison last season, recording 59 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks in 13 games. He has not yet appeared in an NFL regular season game.

Kromah was also selected in the 2024 United Football League in July, but chose to continue to pursue a path in the NFL. He will get that chance now as a member of the Patriots active roster.

Ximines, who was signed by New England in April, was drafted by the New York Giants in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft and spent the first five seasons of his career with the team.

Ximines hadn't contributed extensively for the Patriots through two games, playing only 14 total defensive snaps and recording only a single combined tackle. With his injured reserve designation, Ximines will not be eligible to return until Week 7 when the Patriots head across the pond to face the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.

New England could very well be playing the rest of their season without two of their best players on defense. Linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley was ruled out for the season after tearing his pectoral muscle in Sunday's game and defensive tackle Christian Barmore could miss the season after being diagnosed with blood clots in July.

The Patriots released their game status report on Wednesday ahead of Thursday's game, and standout safety Jabrill Peppers and defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. are both listed as questionable. It will be a challenge for first-year defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington to navigate injuries to key contributors on his unit.

If Wise is unable to go, Kromah could quickly find himself thrown into a heightened role on Thursday.

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