The New England Patriots are re-signing defensive tackle Danny Shelton, the team announced on Monday. Shelton joined the Patriots during the 2018 offseason in a trade with the Cleveland Browns. He played 13 games in 2018 and made 21 tackles.
The reunion comes as a slight surprise, considering the Patriots benched Shelton for three games in 2018. Admittedly, New England is game-plan oriented, which can mean players have big roles in one game and no role in another. Shelton had no role for multiple games, which speaks to the limitations in his game. He’s a run-stuffer and an early-down player at 345 pounds. And at times, he struggled with those duties. That said, he helped the Patriots limit the Rams and Todd Gurley in Super Bowl LIII. Shelton had two tackles while Los Angeles’ rushing attack averaged 3.4 yards per carry.
As a corresponding move, they released offensive lineman Jake Eldrenkamp.
