FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – In a stunning twist that has the AFC East buzzing, the New England Patriots pulled off a sneaky roster coup on Tuesday, scooping up rookie defensive back Tyron Herring from the scrap heap left by divisional foes the Green Bay Packers. The 24-year-old boundary corner, who started 29 games during his college career and flashed serious ball-hawking skills in the preseason, was unceremoniously waived by Green Bay just weeks after impressing enough to stick around Lambeau Field through the summer. Now, he’s Foxborough-bound, ready to inject some fresh legs and shutdown potential into Bill Belichick’s—er, Jerod Mayo’s—secondary as the Pats gear up for Week 4 against the Carolina Panthers.
Herring’s release from the Packers on August 26 came as a head-scratcher to those who watched him during Green Bay’s preseason slate. The 6-foot-1, 201-pound speedster out of Delaware didn’t just show up; he competed like a vet, logging reps primarily at boundary corner while mixing in valuable special teams work. His athleticism and instincts turned heads, but in the cutthroat world of final roster decisions, even the most promising undrafted free agents can get the boot. Signed by the Packers as a rookie free agent back on May 2, Herring’s summer stint in Titletown was cut short, leaving him on the market for a team savvy enough to spot the steal.
What makes this move so “shocking”? Herring isn’t some raw project player—he’s a former college starter with a resume that screams upside. After transferring from Dartmouth, where he earned fourth-team All-Ivy League honors in 2022, Herring exploded at Delaware in 2023 and 2024. As a team captain for the Blue Hens, he racked up 72 tackles (50 solo), four interceptions, 11 passes defensed, 3.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery across 23 games. That earned him honorable mention All-CAA in 2023 and second-team All-CAA in 2024, plus an invite to the prestigious East-West Shrine Bowl. Overall, his four-year college stat line? A whopping 121 tackles, 15 passes defensed, and five picks in 40 games (29 starts). For a rookie “cast off” by a rival who’s chasing another Lombardi, that’s the kind of talent that could slide right into New England’s practice squad and push for elevation sooner rather than later.
The Packers, sitting pretty in the NFC North but always one defensive tweak away from Super Bowl contention, clearly saw Herring as expendable amid their depth chart crunch. But for the Patriots, who are rebuilding on the fly after a brutal 4-13 slog in 2024, this feels like vintage Belichick opportunism—snagging a high-pedigree discard from a division rival (yes, the NFL’s quirky scheduling puts Green Bay on New England’s slate every four years, but the AFC East-NFC North overlap makes this sting extra). Herring’s versatility—he can lock down outside receivers while contributing on coverage units—addresses a need in a secondary that’s been leaky early in 2025, especially with injuries and inconsistencies plaguing the group.
To make room for Herring on the practice squad, New England parted ways with veteran defensive back Corey Ballentine, a move that’s raised a few eyebrows in its own right. Ballentine, 29, was no stranger to the Packers’ orbit either, having spent 2022-24 in Green Bay after stints with the Giants, Jets, Lions, Falcons, Cardinals, and Colts. A sixth-round pick out of Washburn in 2019 and former Cliff Harris Award winner as the nation’s top small-college defensive back, Ballentine brought NFL seasoning to Foxborough, signing to the Pats’ practice squad on August 28. He even got the nod for elevation in Week 1 against the Raiders, logging 20 special teams snaps in the opener before reverting back. With 70 career games (11 starts), 101 tackles, an interception, two forced fumbles, and a knack for kick returns (23.7 yards per), Ballentine was a reliable depth piece. But in Mayo’s youth movement, the scales tipped toward Herring’s raw potential over Ballentine’s experience—especially after Ballentine himself bounced from Green Bay’s roster on August 26, mirroring Herring’s fate.
This isn’t just a swap; it’s a statement. The Patriots, already stung by losing linebacker Mark Robinson to the Jets earlier Tuesday (opening another practice squad spot), are playing the wire-to-wire game like pros. An open active roster spot lingers too, hinting at more fireworks before Sunday’s matchup. Could Herring, the “former starting defensive back” overlooked by Green Bay, be the spark that ignites New England’s turnaround? In a league where rivals’ trash can be your treasure, this feels like the kind of under-the-radar grab that defines contenders. Keep an eye on No. 46—he might just be the next undrafted gem to haunt his old team from afar.