Couple tidbits broke this morning, let’s start with Jonathan Fanene:
#Patriots have released DL Jonathan Fanene, OL Kyle Hill & K Chris Koepplin.
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) August 21, 2012
If you’re familiar with this blog you know that I’ve been banging the “Fanene’s gonna be a huge help with the interior rush” drum so this is definitely unfortunate news. Well, perhaps the unfortunate part is just that Fanene couldn’t get healthy.
The good news is that Ron Brace, Kyle Love, Brandon Deaderick and Jermaine Cunningham all look like they could provide a much-needed boost to the inside rush this year. However there’s no question that there’s still a need for Myron Pryor to get back on the field. At this point it’s starting to look more and more likely he’ll remain on the PUP list and sit out the first six weeks of the season. Almost hard to believe he hasn’t been able to play in nearly a year, guys come back faster than that from ACL tears.
Raiders RT @victafur: FA Andre Carter getting tires kicked on out here after practice
— Greg A. Bedard (@GregABedard) August 21, 2012
Ever since fans saw Chandler Jones play well against the Saints the calls to bring Andre Carter back have gone nearly silent, and now he’s meeting with the Raiders. For most of the off-season it just seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Pats would wait for Carter to get healthy then sign him. Despite some reports that the Pats and Carter couldn’t agree on a deal it still seemed like things would come together.
But once Jones flashed it seems like Carter became the forgotten man. Add in Trevor Scott and Jermaine Cunningham also showing up in practices and games and it made it seem even less likely that the Pats need Carter. There’s no question he was one of the MVPs of the defense last year and everyone loved what he brought to the team on and off the field. But it looks like the youth movement is in full swing and Chandler Jones needs to be on the field as much as possible.
Still, Carter was a lot of fun to root for even if it was just for that one season…