The New England Patriots are keeping around another in-house free agent.
The Patriots are picking up Alex Austin’s exclusive rights contract, effectively signing him to a one-year contract, a source told The Patriots Beat.
Alex Austin also announced the signing on his Twitter.
Austin, 22, was a fall addition by the Patriots. Before signing with New England, he spent time with the Bills and Texans. The Oregon State product was a three-year starter in college and was named honorable mention ALL-Pac 12 twice.
The Bills drafted Austin in the seventh round of the 2023 draft. Austin signed a four-year $3.9M deal with the Bills shortly after. However, the Bills waived Austin at the end of the preseason. Afterward, the Texans claimed that Houston would release him again. He ultimately joined the Texans practice squad until the Patriots signed him in November.
He appeared in five games for the Patriots, registering nine tackles, one interception, and two deflected passes. On New Year’s Eve, he recorded his first pro interception against his former Buffalo Bills team. The 6-foot-1, 191-pound defender logged 211 snaps on defense and 22 on special teams.
Austin has a unique path to the NFL. When he spoke to The Patriots Beat , he detailed his close connection with Patriots Hall of Famer Willie McGinest, whom he referred to as his “Uncle.” Furthermore, Austin also grew up with former Patriots cornerback Jack Jones and receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Austin will compete for a significant role in 2024. He joins Christian Gonzalez, Jonathan Jones, Marcus Jones, Marco Wilson, Shaun Wade, and Isaiah Bolden as the Patriots’ cornerbacks under contract in 2024.
My name is Ben Belford-Peltzman and I am the creator and writer of The Patriots Beat. I am a 17-year kid who is an optimistic pessimist about the City of Champions. I started The Patriots Beat in August of 2022 and never expected to grow so much but here we are. Feel free to email Thepatriotsbeat@gmail.com with any inquires.
