The Patriots just turned two rookie minicamp tryouts into actual contracts.
And honestly?
That’s the kind of shit I like.
New England officially signed linebacker Xavier Holmes out of James Madison and safety Peter Manuma out of Hawaii after both players participated in the team’s rookie minicamp over the weekend. Neither guy was drafted. Neither guy walked into Foxborough with the red carpet rolled out. They showed up as tryout invitees, had a few days to prove they belonged, and apparently did enough for the Patriots to say, “Alright, stick around.”
That’s football.
Not every roster move has to be some massive ESPN graphic with a dramatic soundtrack. Sometimes it’s two hungry dudes getting a foot in the door because they showed enough juice in shorts, helmets, drills, meetings, and whatever else the staff was watching behind the scenes.
And with Mike Vrabel in the building, this is exactly the type of roster churn that makes sense.
You bring in bodies.
You test them.
You see who competes.
You keep the ones who look like they might have something.
No charity. No cute story. Just earn the next rep.
Xavier Holmes Gets His Shot Off the Edge
Let’s start with Xavier Holmes.
Holmes is listed by the Patriots at 6-foot-2, 252 pounds, and he played his final college season at James Madison after starting his career at Maine. So there’s a little New England football tie there already, which is cool. He’s not some random dude from a factory line of five-star SEC monsters. He had to build his way up.
Last season at James Madison, Holmes played in 14 games and put up 30 total tackles, six sacks, one interception, four passes defended, and a blocked kick.
That is a fun little stat profile.
Sacks? Check.
Blocked kick? Check.
Pick? Check.
Pass breakups? Check.
That sounds like a guy who was around the ball, not just standing on the edge waiting to get washed out by tackles.
Now, let’s not act like he’s walking in tomorrow and stealing snaps from the top of the depth chart. The Patriots have real bodies in that edge group. Harold Landry III, Dre’Mont Jones, Gabe Jacas, Elijah Ponder, Bradyn Swinson, Jesse Luketa, Quintayvious Hutchins — there’s competition there. Holmes is going to have to fight like hell just to make people remember his name in August.
But that’s the point.
This is not a “here’s your job” signing.
This is a “here’s your chance” signing.
And for a guy like Holmes, that’s all you can ask for.
Show you can rush.
Show you can hold up physically.
Show you can run on special teams.
Show you can be useful in more than one way.
That’s how the back end of an NFL roster gets built.
Peter Manuma Brings Safety Depth and Special Teams Energy
Then there’s Peter Manuma.
Manuma is a safety out of Hawaii, listed by the Patriots at 23 years old, with 36 career college games, 131 total tackles, one sack, five interceptions, and three passes defended. The Patriots also noted he was named Hawaii’s defensive MVP in 2025.
That’s the kind of résumé that makes sense for a tryout winner.
He has starting experience.
He has production.
He has ball skills.
And if you’re trying to make a roster as an undrafted safety, you better be ready to throw your entire body into special teams like you’re trying to run through a garage door.
That’s probably where his path starts.
Can he cover kicks?
Can he tackle in space?
Can he play with enough discipline to earn trust?
Can he be one of those defensive backs who makes a coach pause during cutdown week and say, “Damn, we might need to keep this guy around”?
That’s the lane.
Safety depth always matters, but special teams is the real door for a player like Manuma. The Patriots don’t need him to be a star tomorrow. They need him to show he can help somewhere immediately while developing into something more.
That is how undrafted guys survive.
This Is the Type of Move That Feels Small Until It Isn’t
Look, nobody is going to throw a parade because the Patriots signed two rookie tryout players.
I get that.
This is not Stefon Diggs. This is not a first-round tackle. This is not some monster trade that makes the group chat explode.
But these are the exact little roster moves that matter in May and June.
Because by the time training camp rolls around, you need competition everywhere. You need hungry guys pushing the bottom of the roster. You need players who know they weren’t handed anything. You need dudes who understand that every rep is basically an audition.
That matters even more for a team trying to build a new identity under Vrabel.
The Patriots are not just collecting names. They’re trying to build a tougher, more competitive roster where the bottom guys make the top guys work and the coaching staff has actual decisions to make.
That’s how you create pressure.
That’s how you find special teams players.
That’s how you find practice squad keepers.
And sometimes, that’s how you stumble into a real contributor.
The Vrabel Patriots Should Be Built Like This
This is where I like the philosophical part of it.
Vrabel played in the league. He knows what a real locker room needs. You can’t build an NFL team entirely out of draft picks and splash signings. You need the grinders too.
You need the guy who came in on a tryout and refuses to leave.
You need the linebacker who knows he has to win one-on-one reps or he’s gone.
You need the safety who treats punt coverage like a damn blood sport.
That stuff matters.
And if Holmes or Manuma can bring even a little bit of that, then these signings are worth the roster spots.
The Patriots had tryout players in rookie minicamp for a reason. They weren’t just there for decoration. Holmes and Manuma showed enough to get contracts, and now the next test begins.
Rookie minicamp got them in the door.
OTAs and training camp will decide whether they can stay in the building.
Final Take
I like this move.
Not because I think Xavier Holmes and Peter Manuma are suddenly going to become household names overnight, but because it shows the Patriots are still digging.
They’re looking for edge depth.
They’re looking for safety depth.
They’re looking for special teams help.
They’re looking for hungry players who might be better than the league thought.
Holmes brings pass-rush production, New England college roots from his time at Maine, and enough versatility on the stat sheet to make him interesting.
Manuma brings safety production, ball skills, tackling experience, and a defensive MVP season from Hawaii.
Both came in as tryout guys.
Both left with contracts.
That means they did something right.
Now the real work starts.
Because getting signed after rookie minicamp is cool.
Making it to September is the real fight.