8 takeaways from the Patriots’ initial 53-man roster
Instant reactions to the Patriots’ initial 53-man roster and final roster cuts.
The busiest day of the year for NFL transactions is in the books. Over the past 48 hours the New England Patriots trimmed their roster from 90 players to the 53-man limit that kicked in on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, ahead of the regular season.
In what is a transitionary year for the Patriots’ roster, there weren’t too many major surprises from the cuts. Still, that doesn’t mean there aren’t things to learn from the moves the team made over the last two days. Here’s a look at what stands out about who made the Patriots’ initial 53-man roster, and who didn’t…
Fourth quarterback
After releasing Bailey Zappe, the Patriots are left with just three quarterbacks – including two rookies. Jacoby Brissett is the only player in the room with an NFL snap under his belt.
That might work to start the season, but is it a setup the Patriots would be comfortable with over 17 games? If something happens to Jacoby Brissett – which we saw Sunday night is a real possibility behind this offensive line – would they be comfortable having an all-rookie QB room with Drake Maye and Joe Milton? Or would they want to have another veteran quarterback option ready as a more known commodity, even if it’s just to back up those two?
With most NFL teams keeping four quarterbacks in the building (roster or practice squad), that seems like the more logical option. Even if that quarterback is on the practice squad (the more likely outcome) he’d still be in the building learning the offense and getting familiar with the rest of the roster.
The bigger question is probably who, not if, the Patriots’ fourth quarterback will be. They could bring Zappe back, but would he agree to return to the practice squad a second time – especially when the path to a starting job isn’t nearly as clear as it was last year? Looking beyond Zappe, this Patriots staff seems to favor big-body, big-armed quarterbacks. Mike White and former Patriot Will Grier could make sense.
Depth at RB
In one of the bigger surprise cuts of the day, the Patriots waived running back Kevin Harris after a strong summer. That leaves the team with just three running backs – Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson, and JaMycal Hasty.
Running back depth can evaporate quicky in the NFL, something the Patriots should be well aware of. There have been times in games the last two years the team only had one healthy active running back.
Given that, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Patriots add more running back depth at some point. That could be as simple as bringing back Harris and UDFA Terrell Jennings on the practice squad, but this is also an underrated spot for the Patriots to make an external addition. Some names to watch who were released on Tuesday include Dillon Johnson, Isaiah Spiller, DeWayne McBride, Joshua Kelley, and former Patriot Ke’Shawn Vaughn.
Deep at receiver
Turns out all that discussion about who would win the Patriots’ sixth receiver spot was for nothing – they kept seven. Kayshon Boutte and Jalen Reagor both made the team along with Pop Douglas, Tyquan Thornton, K.J. Osborn, and rookies Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker.
Still, just because they made the roster initially doesn’t mean those spots are locked in. The battle between Boutte and Reagor will likely continue into the regular season. With Kendrick Bourne eligible to return as early as Week 5, there’s another cut looming for this group.
Thin at tackle
Despite their issues at the position over the summer the Patriots only kept three true tackles on their initial roster – Vederian Lowe, Chuks Okorafor, and rookie Caedan Wallace. Mike Onwenu could factor in here as well but he’s better suited at guard, and the team may have no choice but to play him there after Sidy Sow suffered an injury in the preseason finale.
It’s hard to imagine this is the tackle group the Patriots will go into Week 1 with, especially when it comes to depth. They only have one true left tackle in Lowe, who missed the final week of training camp due to an injury. It’d be a major surprise if the team doesn’t add a veteran tackle to the active roster between now and the start of the regular season.
Kicker
As expected, Joey Slye won the Patriots kicker battle, having outperformed Chad Ryland for most of camp. Ryland was one of the players released by the Patriots on Tuesday.
The question is, do the Patriots make any further moves at the position? It might make some sense for them to keep a kicker on the practice squad in case Ryland cools off during the regular season. Then, it comes down to whether or not Ryland would return on the practice squad, or if the team ends up looking elsewhere.
Slot CB
Slot cornerback depth is a question for the Patriots heading into the season. It looks like Jonathan Jones well spend most of his time on the boundary this season, leaving Marcus Jones as the starter on the inside.
Who will back him up, with most of the remaining cornerbacks primarily boundary players? That job should go to Isaiah Bolden, who started playing in the slot more as camp went on – something that probably helped him clinch his roster spot.
Strong showing for the draft picks
All eight of the Patriots’ draft picks made the initial 53 man roster. They’re the first draft class to accomplish that in New England since 1997.
That’s as much about the team they joined as the players themselves. This is one of the weaker rosters the team has had in the last 30 years, so there were more spots to be won. Still, it’s an encouraging sign for what needs to be a foundational class if the organization is going to make this rebuild work.
Practice squad projection
Now, the Patriots will begin the process of building out their 16-player practice squad. Last year the team initially kept 15 players, with 14 of those players having been with the team in the summer (tight end Pharaoh Brown was the only new addition).
Once again expecting most of the practice squad to be made up of familiar faces, here’s a projection of who we might see return and added…
RB Terrell Jennings
RB Kevin Harris
WR Matt Landers
WR David Wallis
TE La’Michael Pettway
IOL Atonio Mafi
DL Sam Roberts
DL William Bradley-King
LB Joe Giles-Harris
CB Mikey Victor
CB Shaun Wade
S Joshuah Bledsoe
K Chad Ryland (or external kicker addition)
External veteran QB addition
External TE addition
External OT addition
