When they traded away defensive lineman Keion White and safety Kyle Dugger on Tuesday afternoon, the New England Patriots created two openings on their active roster. One of those is about to be filled by a player from the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad.

As first reported by Mike Reiss of ESPN, the Patriots are planning to sign rookie safety John Saunders Jr. to their 53-man roster.

Saunders Jr. started his college career at Miami (OH), seeing action in 23 games over three seasons as a Redhawk and registering a combined five interceptions. He transferred to Ole Miss ahead of the 2023 season and in two years with the Rebels added 26 more in-game appearances as well as six interceptions and three forced fumbles to his résumé.

Despite a mix of experience, production and positional versatil

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