With the first week of the 2025 NFL preseason officially in the books, teams across the league are starting to make small changes to their 90-man roster, as things will get tight in the coming weeks.
Some teams are bringing in new faces due to performance from the opener, which the Kansas City Chiefs may want to consider after seeing how Bailey Zappe played on Saturday. Or other teams are signing new players because of injuries at various positions.
For one ex-Chiefs running back, he has been given a new opportunity to compete for a practice squad spot and maybe a 53-man roster spot in the league because of an injury.
Patriots transactions:
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) August 10, 2025
🏈 Signed RB Deneric Prince and DE Jereme Robinson
🏈 Released S Josh Minkins
🏈 Placed RB Lan Larison on IR
NOTES: Prince (6-0, 211) played at Tulsa, signed w/ Chiefs as UDFA in '23...Robinson (6-3, 263) played at Kansas, signed w/ Bears as UDFA in May
Ex-Chiefs RB Deneric Prince Signs with New England Patriots
On Sunday, ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported that the New England Patriots have signed former Chiefs running back Deneric Prince. Prince will be taking the spot of undrafted free agent RB Lan Larison, who was placed on injured reserve.
As for the 25-year-old Prince, this is a good opportunity for him after he recently played in the UFL with the Memphis Showboats.
Prince, who has only appeared in two games in his NFL career, got a chance to get consistent reps and show his skills in front of NFL brass every week. The former Chief led the Showboats in rushing with 380 yards and two scores on 107 carries.
He also saw some work in the receiving game (18 receptions for 110 yards) and special teams on kick returns. The former Kansas City running back was one of the few bright spots on a struggling Memphis offense in 2025.
Chiefs fans vaguely remember Prince’s time as a player, who spent most of his time on the practice squad. Kansas City signed the young running back as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NFL Draft.
Prince didn’t make the 53-man roster out of camp that summer, but was quickly signed to the taxi squad. The Chiefs signed Prince to a futures deal at the end of the 2023 season, but they parted ways at the end of last preseason.
The ex-Chief didn’t stay unemployed for long as the Dolphins signed Prince to their practice squad a few days later. The 6-foot, 216-pound running back didn’t receive any snaps with the Dolphins last season.
Since there’s already one preseason game done, the ex-Chiefs running back has an uphill climb to make the 53-man roster. The Pats’ RB room is stacked with Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson, and rookie TreVeyon Henderson. Therefore, leaving Prince to battle it out with Terrell Jennings and JaMycal Hasty for a potential RB4 spot.