Meet the Newest Patriots: Kellen Diesch and A.J. Thomas

The New England Patriots made two roster moves on Friday. As was rumored earlier in the day, the team did sign offensive tackle Kellen Diesch. He was on the field at training camp wearing No. 72. New England signed safety A.J. Thomas as well. To make room for the two new additions the Patriots released offensive lineman Tyrone Wheatley Jr. and running back Deshaun Fenwick. New England remains at the 90-man roster limit following the transactions.

Kellen Diesch

Diesch stands over 6-foot-7 and weighs 300 pounds. He played collegiately for Texas A&M (2016-2019) before transferring to Arizona State for his final two seasons (2020-2021). Diesch earned second-team All-Pac 12 honors both of his seasons with the Sun Devils.

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The Miami Dolphins signed Diesch as an undrafted free agent following the 2022 NFL Draft. The Dolphins waived Diesch as part of their final cutdowns. He signed with the Chicago Bears and spent the 2022 season on their practice squad. The Pittsburgh Steelers signed the big tackle after he was released during the Bears’ final cutdowns in 2023. He spent the 2023 season on the Steelers practice squad. Diesch signed briefly with the Cleveland Browns earlier this offseason after being released by Pittsburgh. However, the Browns released him days later due to a failed physical designation. It is unclear what caused the failed physical.

Kellen Diesch has a few former teammates in the New England Patriots locker room. He played with rookie guard Layden Robinson at Texas A&M. On the 2022 Bears, he played with Armon Watts and fellow new addition A.J. Thomas. Diesch played with Watts in Pittsburgh too, where he was also a teammate of Chukwuma Okorafor.

A.J. Thomas

Thomas played college football where he was a teammate of Chukwuma Okorafor his freshman year (2017). Despite a solid career, he was not selected in the 2022 NFL Draft. He signed with the Chicago Bears and stuck with their practice squad for the next two seasons. Chicago elevated Thomas to the active roster for five games in 2022 and one in 2023. He recorded four tackles while playing safety and special teams.

A.J. Thomas signed with the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL for the 2024 season. He helped the Stallions win the 2024 UFL Championship. Thomas led the league in interceptions and was named to the All-UFL team.

At 6-foot-2 and 214 pounds, Thomas played both safety and linebacker in college. Although he played safety in the NFL to date, the Patriots could view him as a hybrid safety-linebacker in the Marte Mapu mode if he bulks up a bit. Mapu has been sidelined in training camp this past week. The best opportunity for A.J. Thomas to make an impact is on special teams, but he will likely need to show he can contribute on defense to stick on the roster.

Departed Players

Wheatley and Fenwick were the odd men out in the roster moves. Wheatley came to New England in a trade with the Cleveland Browns at the tail end of 2023 training camp. The Patriots sent Pierre Strong to the Browns in return. Tyrone Wheatley Jr. appeared in only five snaps across two games for the Patriots last season. It is his lone NFL action to date.

Fenwick signed with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent earlier this offseason. He played college football for South Carolina (where he backed up Patriots running back Kevin Harris) before transferring to Oregon State. Deshaun Fenwick is a big back at 6-foot-1 and 233 pounds who would excel in short-yardage situations. His departure leaves New England with five running backs on the roster: Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson, Kevin Harris, JaMycal Hasty, and Terrell Jennings.

Eliot Wolf and the New England Patriots are showing that they are not done tweaking the roster. The Patriots have already released four players over the past two weeks. New England will continue to try and improve the overall depth and talent of their roster as the preseason schedule approaches and holes on the roster are created by injuries and other issues.