The New England Patriots have placed one young receiver on the shelf and have added another off of waivers.
On Tuesday, the team announced that they had claimed wide receiver Matt Landers off of waivers. The move corresponded with New England placing rookie receiver JaQuae Jackson on injured reserve following a knee injury he sustained in what Patriots coach Jerod Mayo described as a “scary incident on the field” during the second preseason game.
Landers heads to the Patriots after being cut by the Cleveland Browns. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Landers has an intriguing blend of size and speed, having run the 40-yard dash in 4.37 seconds at the 2023 NFL scouting combine. He’s considered a tremendous athlete who remains raw as a receiver.
Landers is in his second season as a pro. The former Arkansas receiver arrived in the NFL last season as an undrafted free agent and spent time on the Seahawks and Panthers practice squads.
Earlier this year, Landers spent time with two UFL teams but was waived before appearing in a game. He went on to sign with the Browns in May before being waived on Aug. 19.
As for Jackson, the Patriots lost the rookie receiver after he was carted off during last week’s preseason loss to the Eagles. Jackson, who was a D-II star before transferring to Rutgers, was having a solid camp.
After catching a touchdown in the Patriots’ preseason opener, Jackson went down in pain on an errant throw against the Eagles.
He remained on the field for an extended period of time as a significant portion of the Patriots bench came out to support him as he was carted off the field. Since he was placed on injured reserve before roster cut downs, Jackson’s 2024 season is now over.
