The Patriots made all their necessary cuts today, getting their roster down to the required 53 players. Of course, things are still very fluid and there could be plenty of more movement over the next day or so. But for now, we get to overreact.
They cut a draft pick! But I loved that undrafted rookie! What happens if that guy gets hurt!
Yes, I’m sure you’re already as sick of those people as I am. Who cares. The Pats are stacked again.
Overall there were a few surprises, as there always are, but no true shockers. There are certainly some spots of concern, but those could still be addressed in the next day or so as there are now plenty of available players on the open market, many of whom could potentially help in the Pats’ trouble spots: wide receiver, running back and offensive tackle.
Here’s how things shook out on the depth chart:
What stands out on offense? The lack of depth at wide receiver is a pretty good place to start. Danny Amendola avoided ending up on the season PUP list, so his and Malcolm Mitchell’s health are immediate things to monitor. They do have good depth at tight end, so that should help overcome any early depth issues. This will be a primarily 12 personnel offense so they can manage, but going into a game with just two wide receivers would be a little scary.
The other area of concern is running back, although DJ Foster certainly showed he belongs late in the preseason. I’m not surprised by Gaffney getting jettisoned. Still would really like to see some kind of hard charger that got cut elsewhere end up with a shot.
The surprises on offense? Clay Harbor and Ted Karras. Karras seemed like a practice squad priority guy in my projection, but the injuries to Cooper and Mason opened up another roster spot. He’s one guy who could still end up getting cut this weekend.
Harbor didn’t show much in the preseason but manages to stick. Between him and Derby you wonder if the Pats could roll out a four-tight end offense. Add in Develin and it’s basically five tight ends. Weird. But big and scary for defenses.
On the defensive side of the ball, the most interesting cut was Geneo Grissom, who should probably be back on the practice squad.
One surprise was Jonathan Jones making it at cornerback over Cre’Von LeBlanc. LeBlanc was a fan favorite this preseason and looked good on defense. However you need special teams value out of the fifth cornerback and Jones was outstanding as a gunner in preseason. Of course that was overlooked by most of us.
I’m excited for Anthony Johnson, who clearly earned his spot this summer. He should be an exciting addition to the mix, bringing a penetrating style that I thought the team would lack this season. He’ll be the primary designated pass rusher at least until Sheard and then Ninkovich return.
Also congrats to Elandon Roberts who showed incredible toughness and aggression this preseason. He really did make far more standout plays that fan favorite Kamu Grugier-Hill, who most of us gave the nod to over Roberts.
Welp, this is the core. We’ll see how things play out over the next 24 hours. But it’s exciting to know we’re just over a week from the start of the season!