Arizona will have another former player represent the program on the biggest stage as running back JJ Taylor has been moved up to the New England Patriots' active roster ahead of Week 1.
Taylor put together a strong showing during training camp for the AFC East franchise, but he was ultimately one of the last players cut by the team Saturday afternoon. That was the deadline for teams to get down to 53 players that would be included on the active roster for the first game of the season.
Sunday, however, the Patriots elected to put Damien Harris on its injured reserve list as he deals with continued recovery from offseason finger surgery opening a spot up on the active roster for Taylor, who signed to the team's practice squad Sunday.
The door could be open for Taylor to solidify his spot on the team in the coming weeks as Harris is expected to miss at least three games because of his injury. Overall the Patriots have some other injuries among the running back unit meaning Taylor could see a decent amount of playing time to begin his rookie season in the NFL.
The California native, who accounted for over 3,200 rushing yards during his Arizona career, signed with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in the spring after getting an opportunity to participate in the NFL Combine earlier in the year.
It has been a difficult year for players like Taylor considering there were no preseason games for teams to continue to evaluate free agents making it even more remarkable that he was able to make the move to the active roster before the first game of the season.
New England opens up the first season after the departure of Tom Brady this Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.
Taylor made a name for himself during four seasons with the Wildcats as he was able to overcome a broken ankle early in his career to eventually become one of the most dominant all-purpose players in the Pac-12. In all he rushed for 3.263 yards with 18 rushing touchdowns, to go with 62 catches for 487 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.
He also contributed on special teams as a returner and finished his career with 988 return yards plus one touchdown in his career.
Taylor elected to turn pro after the 2019 season with another year of eligibility potentially available to him since he only played in four games as a freshman. He will be one of four former Arizona players who will be active for the first week of the season with tight end Rob Gronkowski (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), quarterback Nick Foles (Chicago Bears) and safety/linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (San Francisco 49ers) being the other three.
Safety Will Parks (Philadelphia Eagles) and defensive back Dane Cruikshank (Tennessee Titans) are expected to play this season but will begin the year on the injured reserve list so they will both miss the first three games.
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