Earlier today, the New England Patriots filled the open spot on their 53-man roster. They did not, however, do it by making a surprising move: instead of removing tight end Benjamin Watson from the roster exempt list, the team re-signed safety Jordan Richards. The 26-year-old, of course, spent the first three years of his career with the Patriots before getting traded to the Atlanta Falcons shortly before the start of the 2018 season.
Richards does not enjoy the best of reputation among Patriots fans given that he never lived up to his status as a second-round draft pick: he did not have the athletic skillset to work as a deep safety nor the size or consistent tackling abilities to serve as a strong safety/linebacker hybrid.