Contracts expire for 4 members of Patriots’ final practice squad

New England signed seven players to futures contracts following the finale.

Four members of the New England Patriots’ final practice squad have reached free agency.

The contracts of tight end Matt Sokol, center Kody Russey as well as cornerbacks Breon Borders and William Hooper officially expired on Monday, according to the NFL transaction wire.

Sokol, 28, served as a standard elevation for the final three games of New England’s regular season. He saw 14 snaps on offense and seven snaps on special teams over that span before reverting. Entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2019, the blocking tight end out of Michigan State made previous stops with the Los Angeles Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions before being claimed off waivers heading into organized team activities in 2022. Sokol had also reached the league limit with three elevations last campaign.

Russey, 25, spent the duration of 2023 on the Patriots’ practice squad after clearing waivers at the 53-man roster deadline in August. Arriving in Foxborough as an undrafted free agent by way of Louisiana Tech and Houston in 2022, the 60-game collegiate starter began his rookie year on the scout team. He was elevated twice before earning a promotion to the active roster that November, but remained among the gameday inactives.

Borders, 28, signed to New England’s practice squad in September and dressed but did not debut as an elevation on Christmas Eve. Undrafted out of Duke in 2017, the veteran corner stands 32 games into his career, including six starts. He has totaled one interception, one fumble recovery and 42 tackles across stints with the Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans, Washington Commanders, Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons.

Hooper, 23, entered the NFL as part of the Green Bay Packers’ undrafted class last May following a tryout at rookie minicamp. The Northwestern State product was waived at the end of his preseason audition, which featured a pair of pass deflections, and landed on New England’s practice squad in September. He returned to the group of 16 in December after spending one month with Arizona.

Following last week’s finale, the Patriots retained seven members of the practice squad on futures contracts.

Running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn, wide receiver T.J. Luther, offensive tackle Andrew Stueber, defensive tackle Trysten Hill, defensive end William Bradley-King, linebacker Joe Giles-Harris and cornerback Azizi Hearn are signed for 2024.