Patriots make roster space, releasing veterans Ben Brown and K.J. Britt after waiver claims

The New England Patriots made two veteran roster moves on Monday, releasing Ben Brown and K.J. Britt as the team made space for waiver claims that were awarded shortly after.

According to Yahoo Sports, the corresponding additions came after tight end Cameron Latu and linebacker Darius Muasau were awarded via waivers. The Patriots’ subsequent releases of Brown and Britt were positioned as the roster-management counterbalance for those claims.

Waiver claims are a standard mechanism in the NFL for teams to acquire players who have cleared the waiver process from other rosters. While the timing can vary by week, the practical impact is usually immediate: the acquiring team must create a spot on its active roster (or its relevant roster group) to fit the new players in under league roster rules.

Brown and Britt had been viewed as experienced options for the Patriots, and the releases suggest New England is recalibrating its depth chart around the new waiver acquisitions. In that context, the team’s offseason and preseason roster work is often less about a single player and more about assembling a workable combination for practice and game-day roles.

For Latu, the reported path is notable because the Patriots used a waiver claim to land a tight end. For Muasau, the same process applied on the defensive side as New England took a linebacker through waivers. Tight end and linebacker are both positions where teams commonly evaluate versatility, special teams value, and how quickly a player can process assignments during the early part of the season.

The Patriots’ decision also underscores how NFL rosters can shift quickly in late August, when teams still have several evaluation windows left and must keep a close count of roster spots. Even when a transaction looks straightforward, it can report what coaching staffs value during training camp and the preseason stretch.

What to watch next is whether the waiver additions are immediately integrated into the Patriots’ practice and special teams rotations and how that affects the remaining depth at tight end and linebacker. If New England continues to add through waivers, expect further corresponding moves as the roster picture tightens.