The New England Patriots‘ safety corps will be looking quite a bit different in 2026. But while most of the attention at the position this offseason rightfully went to All-Pro Kevin Byard being signed in free agency to effectively replace Jaylinn Hawkins in the starting lineup, that was not the only notable move.
The Patriots also signed former Titan Mike Brown to a one-year contract. While almost exclusively a special teamer last season, Brown might actually have more to offer.
Hard facts
Name: Mike Brown
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Position: Safety
Jersey number: 33
Opening day age: 27 (4/7/1999)
Measurements: 6’0 5/8″, 218 lbs, 9 5/8″ hand size, 31 1/2″ arm length, 4.59s 40-yard dash, 7.00s 3-cone drill, 4.34s short shuttle, 33″ vertical jump, 10’3″ broad jump, 18 bench press reps, 8.25 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL:Minnesota Vikings (2022), Green Bay Packers (2022), Cleveland Browns (2022), Tennessee Titans (2022-25), New England Patriots (2026-) | College: Miami (OH) (2017-21)
A two-star recruit out of Catholic Central in Grand Rapids, MI, Brown spent his college career at Miami University. In five seasons as a Redhawk, the do-it-all defensive back appeared in 53 games with 39 starts and registered four interceptions as well as a pair of fumble recoveries. He played 2,600 defensive snaps in his college career as well as 701 more on special teams.
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Despite his immense experience and versatile skillset, Brown went unselected in the 2022 NFL Draft. He failed to find a permanent home in both Minnesota and Green Bay before joining the Browns’ practice squad in October of his rookie season. After being elevated to the game day roster on three separate occasions, the Titans poached him off Cleveland’s developmental roster in January and ended up holding onto him for the next three seasons.
During that time, Brown established himself as a core special teamer and rotational safety. As such, he added 35 more in-game appearances to his résumé, including his first five career starts. He joined the Patriots on a one-year, $1.35 million contract in March 2026.
Scouting report
Strengths: Standing at 6-foot-1 and 218 pounds, Brown is a well-sized athlete who has the requisite athleticism to succeed in the NFL. His range and quickness are both adequate, while he has the strength and grip power to get ball carries down in 1-on-1 tackling situations. In general, his tackling in the NFL has been very good and he has shown tremendous strides improving from a 16.2% missed tackle rate in college to just 3.2% since turning pro. Brown showcases some good physicality and is not afraid to get his hands dirty in run support, on special teams, or however else he is used.
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Weaknesses: Brown is a decent athlete across the board but he lacks any true standout traits in terms of his size or speed. This, in turn, can put him at a disadvantage in coverage situations against bigger tight ends or quicker running backs; he also lacks the first-step acceleration to make up for lost ground in man-to-man or to close in on ball carriers in zone coverage. He is a solid but not overly violent tackler, who has forced just one career fumble in 257 takedowns going back to college. He also is not the most forceful block-shedder, and is coming off an injury-riddled season.
2025 review
Stats: 9 games (0 starts) | 4 defensive snaps (0.4%), 191 special teams snaps (40.5%) | 3 special teams tackles | 1 penalty (incl. 0 declined/offsetting)
Season recap: Entering free agency for the first time since his rookie season, Brown was retained by the Titans on a one-year contract. However, his role in 2025 did look different than the one he had held the previous two seasons: his defensive contributions were negligible and he was almost exclusively used in the kicking game..
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Brown saw consistent action on five units, playing 76.1% of special teams snaps in the nine games he appeared in, and 40.5% overall. He was a front-line player on the kickoff coverage squad, a setup blocker on kickoff and punt return, the personal punt protector — meaning he was responsible for making protection calls — and a member of the field goal and extra point blocking unit.
Brown only finished with three tackles on the year, but the Titans viewed him as one of their core guys in the game’s third phase. The problem was that he was not always available to be that.
Brown suffered a knee injury in practice leading up to his team’s Week 5 contest against the Cardinals, and later was placed on injured reserve. He returned after the necessary four-game absence in early November, but in his fifth game back — a Week 15 loss in San Francisco — suffered an ankle injury that forced Tennessee to shut him down for the remainder of the season.
2026 preview
Position: Multiple safety/Big nickel | Ability: Depth player/Role player/Average special teamer | Contract: Signed through 2026 (2027 UFA)
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What will be his role? Based on his usage so far in the NFL, Brown primarily projects as a special teams player for the Patriots. He has vast experience in that area, playing 759 combined career snaps and being a mainstay on five units: kickoff return, kickoff coverage, punt return, punt coverage, field goal/extra point block. New England using him in a similar fashion very well could be the plan, as could be an uptick in defensive snaps. Brown, after all, saw reps with the starting defense in three-safety sets during offseason workouts. He would be a third/backup player in that setup behind starters Kevin Byard and Craig Woodson.
What is his growth potential? Entering his fifth NFL season, Brown is very much established as a player. While there could be some marginal development as well as that aforementioned increase in defensive opportunities, his strengths and weaknesses are very much set. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but a big jump in performance should suddenly not be expected either.
Does he have positional versatility? Even though he was effectively a special teamer only in his last year as a Titan, Brown has shown the ability to line up in multiple spots both in the kicking game and on defense. Besides being a five-unit performer, he also has seen playing time as a deep safety, box defender and in the slot. If we go back to his college days, he also had some off-ball linebacker elements to his game.
What is his salary cap situation? As mentioned earlier, Brown signed a one-year, $1.35 million free agency contract with the Patriots in March. The deal is not entirely counted against New England’s salary cap, however. Qualifying for the veteran salary benefit, his cap hit is reduced to $1.175 million even though the deal itself contains a $1.25 million base salary and $50,000 each in signing and workout bonuses. The signing bonus is the only guarantee in the pact.
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How safe is his roster spot? The low-cost nature of his contract is reflective of Brown’s outlook for the 2026 season. He is not guaranteed a spot on the team despite his vast special teams experience and quality practice reps in the spring. In order to make the team, he will have to prove himself in a safety competition that also is expected to feature Dell Pettus, John Saunders Jr. and Peter Manuma. Realistically, no more than two out of the four players will end up on the team.
Summary: Brown has a solid track record of special teams play, but the Patriots might see him as more than “just” a kicking game contributor. If he can make himself part of the team’s big nickel packages in training camp, he very well could find himself on the 53-man team come the regular season.
What do you think about Mike Brown heading into the 2026 season? Will he factor into the safety mix? Or will his contributions be limited to special teams, if that? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
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