Patriots Daily: Welcome Steele Chambers to New England

Sometimes no news is good news. That was certainly the case for the New England Patriots on Friday, as far as the Boston sports scene is concerned. The Boston Celtics dropped Game 4 of the NBA Finals, missing their first opportunity to clinch the 2024 NBA Championship. They play Game 5 on Monday in Boston. The New York Yankees annihilated the Boston Red Sox 8-1 at Fenway Park. By comparison, the Patriots were a success story by not making any news.

But the Patriots did make some news earlier this week with a roster swap of linebackers. It flew under the radar due to the team’s minicamp and preparations for Tom Brady’s Patriots Hall of Fame enshrinement. So let’s take a moment to meet the newest member of the 90-man roster.

Steele Chambers

The Patriots claimed Steele Chambers off waivers from the Detroit Lions Tuesday. He played collegiately for Ohio State. Chambe began his Buckeyes career as a running back, appearing in 11 games. He switched to linebacker, where he played 39 games over the past three seasons. This included his final 29 games as a starter. His 50 games of big-time college football make him an experienced rookie.

The Top 100 NFL Draft Prospects for 2024 were listed on Patriots Football Now based on their consensus high school rankings. Chambers was listed at No. 76. In the Seven-Round NFL Mock Draft ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft posted on PFN, Chambers was projected to go in Round 7 (No. 233 overall). However, he went undrafted in the actual draft.

Chambers signed as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions. He spent rookie minicamp, OTAs, and the start of mandatory minicamp there. Detroit released the UDFA after signing veteran Ben Niemann.

Steele Chambers is undersized for a linebacker. He measured 6-foot-1 and weighed 226 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine. He ran a 4.58 40-yard dash at Ohio State’s Pro Day. If Chambers sticks with the Patriots his best path is to contribute on special teams. New England could also attempt to make him a hybrid linebacker/safety in the mold of Marte Mapu.

Jay Person Released

New England released UDFA Jay Person to make room for Steele Chambers on the 90-man roster. Person received an invitation to the Patriots Rookie Minicamp and was impressive enough to be signed as an undrafted free agent. He played collegiately for Chattanooga, where he was teammates with Patriots guard Cole Strange. Person had an impressive college career, being named South Conference Defensive Player of the Year twice. He had 168 tackles, 23 sacks, 46.5 tackles for loss, and seven forced fumbles over the past three seasons.

Also in Saturday’s Patriots Daily:

Daily Patriots Fun Fact

Steele Chambers is the fourth Ohio State player on the New England Patriots 90-man roster. He joins OL Michael Jordan, LB Raekwon McMillan, and CB Shaun Wade. The record for most Buckeyes on one team belongs to the 1948 Cleveland Browns with 10. Post-1970 merger, the record is shared by the 2001 Cincinnati Bengals and 2022 New Orleans Saints with seven.

The most Ohio State players on the Patriots in a season is four. The 1996 AFC Champions featured Keith Byers, Terry Glenn, William Roberts, and Tom Tupa.

Post of the Day

Another look back at Tom Brady’s Patriots Hall of Fame Ceremony from Wednesday night, and the ovation given to Bill Belichick:

BB 🐐 pic.twitter.com/MfYSwht6Bs

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) June 13, 2024

New England Patriots

Patriots Football Now – Wednesday Gillette Stadium didn’t have a game or a concert. But the home of the New England Patriots featured performances from Bill Burr, Jay Z, and Kenny Chesney. Bill Belichick was back in his former home. Drew Bledsoe, Randy Moss, Rob Gronkowski, and many other franchise legends returned too. Look back at the Top 12 moments from Tom Brady’s Patriots Hall of Fame ceremony.

NFL News

NFL.com – Since the New England Patriots last won a Super Bowl, the Kansas City Chiefs won three. They have become a dominant force in the NFL behind quarterback Patrick Mahomes. While Boston Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown tried to win their first championship, Kansas City was busy celebrating their third. In a private celebration, the Chiefs received their Super Bowl 58 rings.

Pro Football Network – Speaking of the defending Super Bowl champions, the NFL’s top team didn’t stand pat this offseason. In the draft, they landed speedy wide receiver Xavier Worthy and offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia (whom I had targeted for the New England Patriots all offseason). But another addition has Kansas City’s quarterback and head coach pumped up. Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid rave about new Chiefs WR Hollywood Brown.

Boston Bruins

Boston Hockey Now – Jim Montgomery shakes up his coaching staff in Boston with a hire and a promotion; the NHL schedule will prevent the Bruins from seeing more of the Canadiens moving forward; what the NHL salary cap changes mean for Boston; TD Garden to host 4-Nations Face-Off; and much more on BHN.

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