Patriots Terminate Rookie’s Contract After Losing to Packers

The New England Patriots released rookie tight end Tanner Arkin on Monday, one day after he made two early mistakes that set a rough tone in a 45-27 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The move opens a spot on the 53-man roster. Fullback Reggie Gilliam remains on injured reserve after ankle and knee injuries, and the team also released practice squad linebacker Jose Ramirez.

Arkin, an undrafted free agent, had appeared in four games this season. He played four special-teams snaps in the Week 1 opener against the Seattle Seahawks, sat out Week 2 as a healthy scratch and later started once.

According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Arkin whiffed on his blocking assignment on the game’s opening kickoff. On the Patriots’ first offensive snap, he “was part of illegal shift penalty on (the) 1st offensive play,” Reiss wrote.

The Packers declined the penalty, so New England stayed at the line of scrimmage without replaying the down. Safety Xavier McKinney then intercepted quarterback Drake Maye on the next play. Green Bay scored two plays later to take a 7-0 lead.

The Packers forced four turnovers overall and won by 18 points. The loss dropped the Patriots to 5-4.

Arkin, 23, played 53 games across five college seasons at Colorado State (2021-22) and Illinois (2023-25). He finished with 45 receptions for 351 yards and six touchdowns.

He served as a team captain for the Illini in both 2024 and 2025. He made 29 starts, the second-most by a tight end in program history, and graduated in May 2025 with a degree in kinesiology.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 262 pounds, Arkin projects mainly as a blocker. At Illinois, he was “essentially a sixth offensive lineman,” according to Patriots.com. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.88 seconds at his pro day.

The Patriots signed him as an undrafted free agent on May 8. An injury to free-agent addition Julian Hill opened a path on a tight-end depth chart that also includes captain Hunter Henry and third-round pick Eli Raridon.

An undrafted rookie has landed on the Patriots’ opening 53-man roster in 21 of the last 22 seasons. Arkin made that initial roster at the Aug. 30 cutdown.

Gilliam signed a three-year deal worth up to $12 million in March after six seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He went on injured reserve on Oct. 10, a placement that carries a minimum four-game absence he has already cleared.

The team has a limited number of injured-reserve return designations, so any activation of Gilliam would use one. No other transactions were announced Monday afternoon.

The NFL trade deadline arrives Tuesday at 4 p.m. EST. “No trades to announce,” head coach Mike Vrabel said Monday, according to the team’s transcript of his news conference.

The Packers game also left injury questions. Running back Rhamondre Stevenson has a knee injury with an MRI pending, according to Reiss. Offensive lineman Ben Brown, also dealing with a knee issue, is not expected to play against the Detroit Lions in Munich, Germany, in Week 10, Vrabel indicated. Wide receiver A.J. Brown is trending toward making the trip, according to MassLive’s Mark Daniels.