In need of a spot on their 53-man roster following the acquisition of wide receiver Josh Gordon, the New England Patriots have released wide receiver and former teammate of Gordon, Corey Coleman, the team confirmed Monday.
With the Patriots for less than a full week, Coleman was inactive in Sunday’s 31-20 loss to the Jaguars. A loss that featured the Patriots dressing just three actual wide receiving targets (Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett, and Cordarrelle Patterson), mind you, and ended with just 102 of Tom Brady’s 234 passing yards coming by way of his wideouts.
Coleman, signed on the same day as the since-released Bennie Fowler last Tuesday, came to New England after failing to make Buffalo’s 53-man roster out of a training camp that began with him traded out of Cleveland. A first-round pick in 2016, it seems that Coleman’s Cleveland exit came due to disputes with the coaching staff, as documented in HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks.’
With Gordon in and Coleman out, the Patriots could simply roll with three wide receivers for the second week in a row, or try to get Gordon, whose hamstring injury isn’t considered anything major, caught up to speed in time to make his debut in Week 3.
The Patriots go against Matt Patricia and the Detroit Lions next Sunday night at 8:25 p.m.