Jaguars Sign Two Former Patriots

FOXBORO, MA. — Two players who have previous experience with the New England Patriots have both found a new home elsewhere in the AFC.

The Jacksonville Jaguars announced Tuesday that they’ve signed running back Kevin Harris and offensive guard Jerome Carvin to the active roster. In corresponding moves, they released wide receiver Darius Lassiter and defensive lineman Eli Mostaert.

Harris was one of the Patriots draft selections in 2022, and one of the two running backs that joined the roster in that draft.

“The Patriots got a great diamond in the rough,” Harris said after hearing his name called. “The way he carries himself off the field, being in the league is not going to be a shock for him. He's been planning to be there and he's ready. I tell him all the time that he's a starting NFL running back. I said whoever gets you is getting a steal, and I truly believe that.”

Though the big-bodied runner didn’t crack the 53-man roster out of the preseason, he returned by way of the practice squad and was soon elevated in October. He made his first mark in an NFL game on Monday Night Football against the Arizona Cardinals, rushing for 52 yards and his first career touchdown.

“It was great. They got an opportunity and made some big plays," then-head coach Bill Belichick said at the time about Harris and fellow rookie Pierre Strong Jr. “We'll see if they can sustain it, show up week after week, and people will start looking for them.”

The following season, the South Carolina rookie was released once again on cut-down day, but signed a contract to remain on the practice squad. He later ran into the end zone in a 27-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 15. In 2024, he spent the entirety of the season on the practice squad and didn’t sign a futures contract for another year.

As for Carvin, his time in New England was a lot shorter. The offensive guard —- who had experience with the Chiefs and Bears —- joined the Patriots in August of last season before being released a few weeks later. He re-signed with the team, along with tight end Jack Westover, in October before getting cut six days after inking a contract.

Both Harris and Carvin are now the only former Patriots players who now reside in Duval County. Under the Jaguars’ new coaching regime, a couple holdovers who spent time with Jacksonville are now gone. However, Shane Waldron, the team’s passing game coordinator, spent two seasons on New England’s coaching staff as an offensive quality control coach (2008) and as the team’s tight ends coach (2009). From 2002 to 2004, Waldron was also part of the operations staff, both as an intern and as an assistant.