In a move ahead of New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel facing off against his former franchise of the Tennessee Titans, the Patriots have signed a former Tennessee player to their club.

The Patriots are signing former Titans tight end Thomas Odukoya to their practice squad. Odukoya, 28, signed with the Titans as an undrafted free agent out of Eastern Michigan following the 2022 NFL Draft. He was waived after his rookie camp and remained on Tennessee’s practice squad before getting waived in Oct., 2025.

He appeared in two games for the Titans in 2024 ahead of his reunion with Vrabel.

The move comes ahead of the previously mentioned Week 7 matchup which sees the Titans hosting the Pats and Vrabal on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST.

This will be Vrabel’s first return since being fired by the Tennessee Titans. He was was fired by the Titans in January 2024 after six seasons with the franchise. Vrabel then spent the 2024 season with the Cleveland Browns as a coaching and personnel consultant on Kevin Stefanski’s staff before he was hired by the Patriots as their head coach in Jan., 2025.

Vrabel went 54-45 with three playoff appearances in six seasons with the Titans from 2018 to ’23. His 54 wins are the third most in Tennessee history, and he coached Odukoya during his time with the franchise.

Current Patriots’ quarterback Drake Maye has said the roster is remaining focused on the task at hand ahead of seeing the field against Tennessee.

“The way Coach Vrabel handles [his past with Tennessee] kind of leads into how we’ll handle it,” Maye said of playing against his coach’s former team. “I think he’s focused about this team and not worried about going back to a place he coached for a long time … he’s kind of treating it like it’s not a big deal which has bled into us. We’re treating it like another week, another opponent and going to treat it the same … it’s a challenge for us to go keep proving it week in and week out. That’s been our main focus.”

This latest matchup for the Patriots comes after the Buffalo Bills handed the Patriots the top spot in the AFC East after losing 24-14 to Atlanta.

The last time the Pats held on to first place was late Nov., 2021 after starting out 2-4, the Patriots ripped off seven straight wins from before hitting their bye week.

The Patriots have won three straight with wins over the Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills and, most recently, the New Orleans Saints. New England remains the only team in 2025 that has not surrendered 50 yards to a running back through the first six games in 2025 — which is also the very first time this has occurred in program history.

Odukoya spent his college football years with Eastern Michigan and was a three-year captain. The 6’6″, 253-pound player received for four touchdowns and totaled 22 sacks — being invited to the Hula Bowl all-star game at the end of his collegiate career.

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