Pats Pulpit
Now that their preseason is officially over, it is time for the New England Patriots to cut their roster down to 53 players. They already started on Friday, when they parted ways with 14 players, none of which particularly surprising cuts.
Now, the tough work begins: until Tuesday 4 p.m. ET, they will need to remove another 24 players from their current roster. Here’s my best guess as to what they will do.
In: Drake Maye, Joshua Dobbs
Cut: N/A
Not much of a surprise here after the Patriots already parted ways with Ben Wooldridge on Friday. The Patriots will go with Joshua Dobbs to back up Drake Maye and serve as a veteran in the room for the sophomore starter.
As for Wooldridge, the team might bring him back to the practice squad to run the scout team. He was bad Thursday night against the New York Giants, but he can be an adequate scout team QB, unless they feel there is someone better out there. Either way, expect the Patriots to add another QB3 at some point in the coming days.
In: Rhamondre Stevenson, TreVeyon Henderson, Antonio Gibson
Cut: Terrell Jennings (PS), JaMichael Hasty (PS)
IR: Brock Lampe, Lan Larison, Deneric Prince
No surprises here either. The Patriots should be playing all 3 backs a good amount this year, and the backfield has a chance to be one of the most dynamic the Patriots have had in a long time. Jennings and Hasty both have been with the team before and should stick on the practice squad. Both have shown to be adequate runners when needed, and both play a host of special teams as well.
In: Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins, Kyle Williams, Efton Chism III, Javon Baker
Cut: Jeremiah Webb (PS), John Jiles (PS), Kendrick Bourne
IR: Ja’Lynn Polk
There are some tough decisions to be made at wide receiver. The first five have all but locked up a spot, so there are only one, or possibly two, spots available. I had originally thought Javon Baker was close to a roster lock, given his special teams role, but he has since proven himself almost unplayable at receiver. So, I don’t know if he is actually going to make it. However, I think he’s done enough at gunner and other ST spots that he ends up on the roster, even if it’s primarily for special teams.
Ja’Lynn Polk will be placed on IR due to his shoulder injury; keeping him around to try again next year makes sense. Jeremiah Webb and John Jiles have both earned spots on the practice squad, in my eyes, and I would say that Webb has been their seventh best receiver, even though that’s not enough to get him on the 53.
Not sure if Kendrick Bourne is cut, traded, or lands on the injured reserve, but he looks like a long shot for the active roster at...
