Sportsnaut
The Patriots had an impressive preseason debut on Friday night, defeating the Commanders 48-18. Less than 48 hours later, however, the Patriots were back on the field for another practice in the sweltering August heat.
As is common this time of year, though, the Patriots did some roster shuffling before practice got underway. First, running back Lan Larison was added to injured reserve and fellow running back Deneric Prince was brought in to fill that roster spot.
After that, the team made some moves on the defensive side of the ball. 2025 undrafted free agent defensive back Josh Minkins was cut and edge-rusher Jereme Robinson was signed. Robinson is also a 2025 UDFA who previously was signed by the Bears and cut last month.
It’s a bit surprising to see Minkins be cut so soon after a solid performance in the preseason opener. Minkins collected three tackles against the Commanders and looked to be holding his own against the other backups. However, the team clearly didn’t see Minkins having a chance to make an impact in this deep safety group.
The team now rosters Jabrill Peppers, Kyle Dugger, Craig Woodson, Marcus Epps, Jaylinn Hawkins, Dell Pettus, and Brenden Schooler at the safety spots. Peppers, Dugger, and Woodson should be seen as locks to make the team, while Hawkins could be approaching lock status after an impressive summer.
As for Robinson, the edge-rusher will try to carve out a spot on his second NFL team, or at the very least, make the practice squad. Robinson spent five seasons at Kansas in college and racked up 98 tackles, 29 tackles for loss, and 14 sacks over 53 career games.
At the edge spots, the Patriots seemingly do have room for another contributor. Harold Landry III will start on one side, but Anfernee Jennings may not be the best fit in Mike Vrabel’s defense, and the depth behind him isn’t great either.
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