Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots’ roster cutdown day came and went without any major moves being made. The much-speculated Kyle Dugger trade never happened, and the team also did not pull any shocking releases out of its hats.
And yet, there were still a few moves and decisions that caught us by surprise. Here are the six that stand out the most, featuring some input from the community.
MacktheKnife Agreed, dude hasn’t done anything in 2+ years, including camp, yet…roster.
With Josh McDaniels returning this offseason to coordinate the Patriots’ offense, there was some optimism that Kendrick Bourne might be able to return to the form he showed earlier in his tenure with the club; in 2021, with McDaniels running the show, he had the best season of his career and caught 62 passes for 877 yards and seven touchdowns in a combined 18 games.
However, Bourne had a quiet training camp before departing the Patriots’ in-stadium practice on Aug. 2 with an injury. At that point, he had not caught a pass from Drake Maye in competitive team drills. His continued absence — he has not bee on the field since his injury — seemed to suggest he was headed off the active roster, either to injured reserve or the chopping block.
At least for now, he stays put.
jt1918
The most surprising thing? They brought everyone back who finished the 2024 season at wide receiver. Bourne, Polk, Baker, Boutte, Douglas — that was universally viewed as a horrific wide receiving squad. But throw in a UDFA, a 30+ year old coming off an ACL tear, and a Bills reject, and suddenly that’s supposed to be good enough?PatsHowYouDoIt
I think I’m most surprised that they kept 8 receivers and only 3 running backs. Isn’t Rhamondre a little gimpy already?
Another reason why keeping Bourne on the roster was surprising was due to the fact that the team was quite deep at wide receiver to begin with. The top five spots on the depth chart all were set entering cutdown week, with Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins and third-round rookie Kyle Williams all locks to make the roster.
New England keeping three players alongside them — Bourne, Javon Baker, Efton Chism III — was not expected. As a consequence, the team finds himself a bit lighter in other spots such as running back.
On the one hand, second-year tight end Jack Westover emerged as the Patriots’ top fullback following the season-ending injury suffered by rookie Brock Lampe. On the other hand, his performances as a whole this summer — including catching only one 5-yard pass in three preseason games — were nothing to write home about.
And yet, New England opted to keep Westover on the team as its third tight end behind starters Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper. Realistically, he will serve as...
