Drake Maye and the New England Patriots are currently in training camp preparing for the 2026 NFL regular season. Maye is coming off a sensational second year in the league in which he led New England to its first Super Bowl appearance since legendary quarterback Tom Brady left the franchise.
Head coach Mike Vrabel was a large part of the turnaround last season, turning a 4-13 team under head coach Jerod Mayo in 2024 into a 14-3 AFC East division title-winning team in 2025. New England owner, chairman and CEO Robert Kraft has recently added firepower to the offense as he looks to build upon the positive momentum from last year.
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The Patriots signed former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Dobbs early in free agency, and on June 1, they traded for Super Bowl champion wide receiver A.J. Brown in exchange for a 2028 first-round NFL Draft pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick. It appears New England is not finished adding offensive depth pieces, as it recently made another move to boost the offense for Maye.
On Tuesday, the Patriots went to the social media website X to announce that the team had signed wide receiver Tejhaun Palmer. Palmer was originally selected No. 191 overall in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. The Wisconsin native originally played at Snow College before transferring to play with the UAB Blazers.
Palmer had a strong showing in his final season in Birmingham. The 6-foot-1 wide receiver had 858 receiving yards on 47 catches for a blistering 18.3 yards per catch, to go along with seven touchdowns. Although the 26-year-old has yet to record statistics in the NFL, Vrabel and Maye are hoping they can get production out of Palmer.
"Patriots claim WR Tejhaun Palmer off waivers from Arizona," the New England Patriots wrote on X. "Release rookie TE Jeremiah Franklin."
New England will head to Lumen Field to open the 2026 NFL regular season, as the Patriots face the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 8:20 p.m. ET in a rematch of last season's Super Bowl.
