So much in motion these days it’s hard to stay on top of it all. And just after you write someone off as retiring or getting traded they unretire or their trade is negated when they fail a physical. Yes, I look forward to things next week, when we get back on a firm schedule and the roster movement is more contained.
Of course that won’t be the case this weekend, when there’s a good chance the Pats add some player currently on another roster who steps in and immediately plays a significant role. No, that player isn’t on anyone’s 53-man roster projection right now, and that’s what always makes Labor Day weekend so exciting.
Except when it’s something like Richard Seymour getting traded to the Raiders.
Here’s a catch up of everything that’s been going down and a rough guess at who the roster locks are right now.
— I was surprised this offseason when the Pats not only brought back Alan Branch but signed Terrance Knighton and drafted Vincent Valentine. Seems like all three fit the same general mold (huge humans) so it wasn’t a total shock when Knighton was released yesterday. I did really like the personality he showed on Twitter, but alas maybe that wasn’t helping his cause either. This seems to lock it in that Anthony Johnson makes the roster and Valentine gets quality defensive reps in the rotation. I just don’t think Knighton was prepared to two-gap like the Pats wanted him to. And just because a guy is big doesn’t mean he can drop his center of gravity and hold his ground against two blockers.
— The guy I don’t know about now is Markus Kuhn. He’s played a lot this summer but I have yet to really see him do anything that makes me think he should be on the roster. He has flashes and certainly shows more with his experience than Valentine, but he might be just a guy that Valentine would surpass with more playing time. Kuhn might hurt his development if he’s eating those snaps.
— Tre Jackson was moved to the regular season PUP list on Monday, meaning he’s out the first six week of the season at least. This was a no-brainer and likely where Dion Lewis and Sebastian Vollmer are headed by Saturday, if not today. With Jonathan Cooper and Shaq Mason returning in a limited basis to practice, it’s a sign that depth at guard is improving. Jackson can get fully healthy and then the Pats can get a boost from him if they need it. Though there’s a good chance they won’t.
— Starting to wonder about Danny Amendola. Could he start the season on the PUP list too? Doesn’t seem like there’s been much analysis of this out there in Patriots Nation. Bennett certainly helps if Amendola is out the first six weeks, he makes the Pats’ 12 personnel more talented than their 11 personnel, but you do wonder how it will work if they want to go three wide. Probably Keshawn Martin gets the call, as much as everyone will want it to be Malcolm Mitchell.
— Here are my current 50 roster locks:
QB (2) J.Garoppolo, J.Brissett
RB (5) L.Blount, B.Bolden, J.Develin, T.Gaffney, J.White
WR (6) J.Edelman, C.Hogan, K.Martin, M.Slater, D.Amendola, M.Mitchell
TE (3) R.Gronkowski, M.Bennett, A.Derby
C (1) D.Andrews
G (4) S.Mason, J.Cooper, J.Thuney, J.Kline
T (3) N.Solder, M.Cannon, L.Waddle
DE (4) R.Ninkovich, J.Sheard, T.Flowers, C.Long
DT (4) M.Brown, A.Branch, A.Johnson, V.Valentine
ILB(2) D.Hightower, J.Freeny
OLB(3) J.Collins, S.McClellin, B.Mingo
CB (4) M.Butler, L.Ryan, C.Jones, J.Coleman
SS (4) P.Chung, J.Richards, N.Ebner, B.King
FS (2) D.McCourty, D.Harmon
ST (3) S.Gostkowski, R.Allen, J.Cardona
That leaves three spots and here are the contenders:
- Kamu Grugier-Hill: KGH has been a lock through most of the preseason but I’m just not sure anymore. I don’t see him playing base linebacker in this system. At best he’s a sub-linebacker which means he’s a coverage guy and he’s way down the depth chart there. Unless he’s playing 3-4 special teams units I don’t see why he needs a 53-man spot. He’s an easy PS guy.
- Cameron Fleming: Probably on with Vollmer out and Derby in, opening up an extra blocker need, a role Fleming plays well.
- Geneo Grissom: With Mingo on the roster now it could push Grissom off. Still has PS eligibility.
- Roberts/Leblanc/Jones: One of these guys gets on, probably Leblanc at this point.
- Markus Kuhn: Just not sure he’s any good, as much as I want to call him Das Run Stopper.
- Elandon Roberts: Loved what I saw out of him last week, but with Freeny getting a two-year extension, Roberts isn’t taking his roster spot.
— Of course, there will undoubtedly be a bombshell of some degree dropped in the next six days. This has to be the worst time of year to be an NFL player who isn’t a star. The Pats are always good to cut one guy that no one saw coming and that no one can understand how he’ll be replaced. I won’t even venture a guess who it will be. Or maybe BB will go easy on us this year.
If Amendola starts the season on PUP, that frees up another WR spot. Could Foster take that position as a RB with WR flexibility? Is there more upside there than with a guy like Dobson? I realize that only leaves you three healthy WRs to start the season in AZ.
Yeah it’s a good question. I don’t really see a problem getting Foster to the PS and how much more will he bring to the party at this point than White. Even if you think he’s got a higher ceiling than White. So the argument could be made to keep Dobson if Amendola is PUP’d I think.
I’m not sure Foster will get on the PS. There was a lot of interest in him as an UDFA. I think Gaffney is more likely to come through this way, he’s more “known” and thus less exiting than unproven Foster. Kuhn i dont see either, played a lot but didnt showed enuff in Game 3.
Yeah it’s a fair point. Tough call there, of course if Amendola goes to PUP this weekend it gives a little more flexibility. I just don’t know how much of a role Foster can play this season between White and, at some point, Lewis. But it would be a move for the future and it’s obviously a very important role. And as someone who’s not the biggest James White fan, I could see Foster pushing him early in the season.