The New England Patriots need to cut their roster down to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. That means head coach Bill Belichick still has 20-plus players to move on from, and plenty of tough decisions to make at key positions.
As of Tuesday morning, the majority of roster cuts so far were players that we considered long shots to make the team. The most recently released are quarterback Trace McSorely and punter Corliss Waitman. The move qualifying as the “biggest” surprise so far is veteran defensive tackle Carl Davis Jr., who spent the previous two-plus seasons in New England.
![Oct 16, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; New England Patriots defensive tackle Carl Davis Jr. (98) celebrates his fumble recovery with linebacker Matthew Judon (9) against the Cleveland Browns during the fourth quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports](https://985thesportshub.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/88/2023/08/USATSI_19246808-1-copy.jpg)
Oct 16, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; New England Patriots defensive tackle Carl Davis Jr. (98) celebrates his fumble recovery with linebacker Matthew Judon (9) against the Cleveland Browns during the fourth quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports
On Sunday, the Patriots officially announced Davis’ release, in addition to the following 10 players:
LB Diego Fagot
DB Brad Hawkins Jr.
TE Johnny Lumpkin
RB C.J. Marable
DB Quandre Mosely
DB Rodney Randle Jr.
DL Justus Tavai
OL Micah Vanterpool
TE Scotty Washington
LB Carson Wells
![Jun 12, 2023; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots tight end Matt Sokol (87) makes a catch while doing a footwork drill at the Patriots minicamp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports](https://985thesportshub.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/88/2023/07/USATSI_20878608-copy.jpg)
New England Patriots tight end Matt Sokol makes a catch while running a drill at 2023 minicamp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
Due to the releases of Davis and Tavai, look for the Patriots to possibly make an outside addition at defensive tackle. At tight end, Matt Sokol has done a good job fending off others on the depth chart for a possible third spot, but we’re leaving open the possibility of a trade.
As of 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday, the Patriots have less than 20 players left to cut, but many of those remaining players could end up re-joining the team via the practice squad. Even then, they have open spots to fill. So, we’re going to keep you updated on everything that they do in the tracker below…