Mike Brown and Jeremiah Pharms Jr. reverted to the New England Patriots practice squad after serving as standard elevations for the Week 3 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to a report by Pats Pulpit. The Patriots lost 35-6 in Jacksonville, where both players saw defensive action. The game at EverBank Stadium marked the first regular-season game action of 2026 for both the safety and the defensive tackle, the report said.
The reversion followed their game elevations; it does not establish whether either player will appear in a future game. The report also detailed their workloads and the standard elevations it says remain for each player. Their paths to the Patriots and their different roles against Jacksonville provide additional context for why each was called up: Brown contributed on defense and special teams, while Pharms started on the defensive front.
Mike Brown and Jeremiah Pharms Jr. revert to the Patriots practice squad
Brown and Pharms returned to the practice squad after being elevated for the Jaguars game, Pats Pulpit reported. The report describes their postgame status; it does not say either player was released or permanently moved off the practice squad. The distinction matters because a standard elevation allows a practice-squad player to join the active roster for a game, while the reported reversion places the player back on the practice squad afterward.
Both players were described as veterans, but their routes to this opportunity differed. Brown entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and spent time on the practice squads of the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns before joining the Tennessee Titans’ 53-man roster late in his rookie season. He remained in Nashville until the Titans did not tender him as a restricted free agent in March. Brown signed with New England soon afterward and joined its practice squad after being released as a vested veteran at the roster cutdown deadline.
Pharms’ NFL path began after stops in other football leagues. Undrafted out of Sacramento City College, San Joaquin Delta College and Friends University in 2020, he played for the Wichita Force of the Champions Indoor Football League and the Pittsburgh Maulers of the USFL before entering the NFL ranks before training camp in 2022. New England brought him back to its initial practice squad after he cleared waivers during the August cutdown.
Their contributions in the Patriots’ loss to Jacksonville
According to the report, Brown recorded one stop and played 12 defensive snaps and 19 special-teams snaps. His defensive stop came against Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten. The snap totals show that his work was not limited to his role in the secondary: Brown also participated on the kicking units, where he logged more snaps than he did on defense.
Brown worked as New England’s third safety, behind captain Kevin Byard III and trade acquisition Jaylen Reed, according to the report. The Patriots were without Dell Pettus, who was on injured reserve, while Craig Woodson was listed on the wrong side of questionable with a shoulder injury. That context helps explain Brown’s place in the safety group for the game, but does not establish what the team will do with the position in a later week.
Pharms started on the defensive front and recorded one tackle across 13 defensive snaps. The report said the base front was missing veteran outside linebacker Dre’Mont Jones because of a shoulder injury; the team had also recently lost rookie edge Quintayvious Hutchins to injured reserve. Pharms’ start and snap count describe his assignment in this particular game, rather than a permanent change to his roster status or role.
The figures offer a game-specific snapshot of the two call-ups. Brown had 31 combined defensive and special-teams snaps, while Pharms’ reported total covers 13 defensive snaps; the source did not provide a special-teams count for Pharms. Their listed contributions are one stop for Brown and one tackle for Pharms, and the report does not characterize either number as a season total.
Their career records also differ in length. Brown had appeared in 36 games, including a handful of starts, entering the report. Across 515 defensive snaps and 779 special-teams snaps in his career, he had recorded 61 tackles and two passes defensed. Pharms had appeared in 32 games, including six starts, in his series of transactions with New England. His Patriots totals stood at 46 tackles, two sacks and one fumble recovery over 607 defensive snaps and 128 special-teams snaps.
Two standard elevations reportedly remain for each player
Pats Pulpit reported that Brown and Pharms each have two standard elevations remaining. The outlet also reported that further game appearances after those elevations would require a 53-man roster agreement. These procedural details are attributed to the report and have not been independently confirmed here. They describe the number of call-ups the report says remain, not a guarantee that either player will receive another elevation.
The outlet reported that the Patriots had an open active-roster spot at the time. That detail does not indicate that the team planned to promote either player, and the report does not establish what roster decisions may follow. An available spot and the players’ remaining elevations are separate pieces of roster context; neither confirms a future move.
For Brown, the immediate game opportunity came amid absences and uncertainty among the safeties, while Pharms was used as a starter on a defensive front affected by personnel losses. Those circumstances explain the reported Week 3 roles, but they do not resolve whether the Patriots will use either player again. Both reverted after the game, and the report left their next status undecided.
Patriots turn their attention to the Bills
The report listed the Buffalo Bills as New England’s next opponent, with the Bills hosting at Highmark Stadium the following Sunday. Kickoff was scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, according to the outlet. The matchup was identified as an AFC East opener. The report did not confirm Brown’s or Pharms’ availability or roster status for that game.
With the team moving forward after a 1-2 start, the next game provides the immediate schedule context for the roster update. The reported open active-roster spot and remaining elevations do not reveal which players will be called up, if any, for the trip to Buffalo. Any decision about Brown or Pharms for that matchup would require a later roster update.
The roster status, game contributions, snap counts, and elevation details in this update are attributed to Pats Pulpit’s report on Brown and Pharms reverting to the practice squad.
