Never mind: Patriots didn't release TE Eric Tomlinson, after all

Sony Michel of the New England Patriots is congratulated by his teammate Eric Tomlinson after scoring a rushing touchdown against the New York Jets during the second half at MetLife Stadium on October 21, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)

Steven Ryan/Getty Images

By Matt Dolloff, 985TheSportsHub.com

Only the Patriots could start the season 7-0 and have so much weird, wild stuff going on.

Less than 24 hours after officially announcing the release of tight end Eric Tomlinson, the Patriots Twitter account said on Thursday: "TE Eric Tomlinson was not released yesterday and is on the #Patriots 53-man roster."

The decision to keep Tomlinson after all was ostensibly because the team made the surprise decision to place wide receiver Josh Gordon on injured reserve. That reopened Tomlinson's roster spot, which presumably was going to the newly acquired Mohamed Sanu initially.

Tomlinson played 38 snaps (46 percent) of offensive snaps at the Jets on Monday night, at times lining up as both an inline tight end and fullback. The returning Ben Watson played 62 snaps (76 percent) and caught three of five targets for 18 yards. Ryan Izzo continued to miss practice on Wednesday as he recovers from a concussion.

The Patriots obviously viewed Tomlinson as expendable for a time. So you have to wonder if they're still looking elsewhere for an upgrade at tight end and/or fullback ahead of the trade deadline. For now, they're going to keep him around for blocking purposes. With him and Watson on the field, they certainly looked at least marginally improved in that area against the Jets.

Matt Dolloff is a digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff or email him at matthew.dolloff@bbgi.com.

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Matt DolloffWriter

Matt, a North Andover, Massachusetts native, has been with The Sports Hub since 2010. Growing up the son of Boston University All-American and Melrose High School hall-of-fame hockey player Steve Dolloff, sports was always a part of his life. After attending Northeastern University, Matt focused his love of sports on writing, extensively writing about all four major Boston teams. He also is a co-host of the Sports Hub Underground podcast and is a regular on-air contributor on the Sports Hub. Matt writes about all New England sports from Patriots football to Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins.