Patriots make decision on punter battle for 2023 season

The New England Patriots carried two punters during 2023 training camp, giving the impression of a competition. If there was one, we now know victor.

As first reported by Chris Price of the Boston Globe on Monday, the Patriots are cutting punter Corliss Waitman, as they work closer toward naming their initial 53-man roster. This means that rookie punter Bryce Baringer has won the Patriots' punting job to begin the 2023 season.

Price added that Waitman, who spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons with the Steelers and Broncos, respectively, is a candidate to return to the Patriots on the practice squad. If the Pats decide to carry a punter on the P-squad at all, it would almost certainly be Waitman, if he can't find an opportunity elsewhere.

It's not a terribly surprising decision that the Patriots went with Baringer over Waitman. Baringer, who played four years at Michigan State, was drafted in the sixth round (192nd overall) this past April. He also proved to have a stronger leg than Waitman, anyway.

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The Patriots still have a decision to make at the other kicking specialist job, which is ... kicker. It's another case of rookie vs. veteran, where fourth-round trade-up selection Chad Ryland is a virtual lock to stay in New England, whether on the roster or redshirted via injured reserve. Nick Folk, however, has also been good enough to be worthy of keeping his roster spot.

Kicker has been a real battle, and a much closer one than punter. So, it's one of the top storylines to watch for over the next day or so, as Bill Belichick makes his final decisions on the Patriots' roster cuts.

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Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster 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? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @realmattdolloff. Check out all of Matt's content here.

This tracker is from the weekend before the New England Patriots made their final roster cuts. Click here for the most recent tracker.

The busiest time for NFL transactions has arrived. With the 2023 preseason wrapped up, it's on to roster building week.

This 'building' process actually starts with subtraction. By 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, all NFL teams have to trim their 90-man rosters to 53 players. This is a different format from recent years, when cuts happened gradually over the span of the preseason with separate cutdown days to 85 and 80 players.

Once the cuts are made and that Tuesday deadline passes, the roster building continues. For one, it is when teams can start making waiver claims and re-signing their own players or adding other teams players to their practice squads..

The Tuesday 4:00 deadline is also important when it comes to managing injured reserve. For players to be eligible to return from IR, they first must make the initial 53-man roster. Any player placed on IR before that time is out for the season. Once that deadline passes, players can be placed on IR, re-opening roster spots for new signings or practice squad elevations.

Speaking of injury lists, this is also an important period for players on PUP or NFI. If not activated by the deadline, PUP players automatically miss the first four weeks of the season, with the timeline for NFI players being six weeks.

With so much going on, we’ll be tracking all of the Patriots’ moves across these categories here over the next couple of days, as well as big moves around the NFL. Here’s a running list of what’s happening…

At tackle, it's been more about who the Patriots are adding rather than subtracting. They're about to get reinforcements back at the premium position, with Calvin Anderson expected to be activated off the non-football injury list, as reported by Field Yates.

It looks like Malik Cunningham's roster decision will come down to the wire. Cunningham, a UDFA out of Louisville who has worked at quarterback, receiver, and on special teams this summer, projected squarely on the bubble coming in. There's also some question as to whether or not the Patriots could get him to the practice squad.

Cunningham is the only UDFA left currently on the Patriots' roster. The Patriots have had at least one UDFA make the initial or Week 1 roster 19 years in a row. For it to continue this year it's down to the only two remaining UDFAs on the roster - Cunningham and wide receiver Thyrick Pitts.

With Nick Folk's status up in the air, and a kicker shortage around the NFL, the question of Folk's value in a trade has come up often leading up to roster cuts. The Browns and Chargers have now helped set the market. with Los Angeles sending kicker Dustin Hopkins to Cleveland for a 2025 seventh-round pick. Folk should be worth more than Hopkins - who only played in four games last year - but a late-Day 3 pick is still probably what's in play.

In another expected cut, the Patriots have released veteran quarterback Trace McSorley. McSorley rarely repped in practice and saw minimal playing time in preseason games after the first week of the preseason.

The Patriots have released punter Corliss Waitman in their first move of the day on Monday. That means rookie sixth-round pick Bryce Baringer has won the punter battle in camp. Still, Waitman is a "strong candidate to return to the practice squad" per Christopher Price of the Boston Globe.

The Patriots ended Sunday the same way they began it - trading for a tackle. They acquired Vederian Lowe from the Minnesota Vikings for a sixth-round pick. We highlighted Lowe as a potential Patriots draft fit last spring here and here.

ESPN's Mike Reiss confirmed another round of cuts late Sunday afternoon. He also added the team having waived running back C.J. Marable, defensive back Rodney Randle, offensive lineman Micah Vanterpool, and tight end Scotty Washington. Reiss also added linebacker Diego Fagot was waived with an injury designation.

The Patriots are moving on from another member of this year’s UDFA class with the release of Justus Tavai, the brother of linebacker Jahlani Tavi. After a strong performance in the preseason finale, Justus could be in line for a practice squad spot next week.

Just prior to practice, Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald reported that the Patriots have waived tight end Johnny Lumpkin, linebacker Diego Fagot, and safety Brad Hawkins. All three were considered longshots to make the roster, but are candidates to return on the practice squad (Hawkins spent time on the Patriots' practice squad last year).

The Patriots held practice on Sunday afternoon. In addition to those who have already been reported as cut, a number of other players projected to be on the bubble or off the roster entirely were not in attendance. That group includes...

--RB CJ Marable
--TE Scotty Washington
--TE Johnny Lumpkin
--IOL Kody Russey
--OT Conor McDermott
--OL Micah Vanterpool
--DL Justus Tavai
--LB Diego Fagot
--LB Ronnie Perkins
--CB Isaiah Bolden
--S Brad Hawkins
--DB Rodney Randle

Leading up to roster cuts it felt like the Patriots needed to add more tackle depth externally, and they've now done that via trade. The Patriots are sending running back Pierre Strong to the Cleveland Browns, in return for offensive tackle Tyrone Wheatley Jr.

(Full details here)

To start off Sunday, the Patriots released linebacker Carson Wells. Wells was signed by the Patriots on Aug. 15.

In their second move of Saturday night, the Patriots released defensive back Quandre Mosley. Mosley first signed with the Patriots' practice squad late last season, then remained with the team on a futures deal. He was viewed as a longshot to make the roster.

The Patriots' first cut of this window came Saturday night, and was a bit of a surprise. Defensive tackle Carl Davis, who has played in 36 games and made seven starts for the Patriots over the last three years, was released. This came after Davis played late into the final preseason game. Without Davis, the Patriots' early-down nose tackle group consists of Davon Godchaux, Jeremiah Pharms, and UDFA Justus Tavai.

(Full details here)

NEXT: 7 tough decisions for Bill Belichick to make in Patriots' final roster cutdowns