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Deion Branch Says ‘All of Us Are Surprised’ After Wide Receiver Cut From Patriots

Deion Branch still has a locker and nameplate at Gillette Stadium. What he doesn't have is a job.

Branch was cut from the Patriots on Aug. 31 as the team trimmed down to its 53-man roster, and although there has been speculation that New England was interested in bringing back the veteran wide receiver, nothing official has happened as the NFL enters Week 2.

Branch's top to-do item this weekend, in fact, was Troy Brown's Patriots Hall of Fame induction on Saturday at Gillette. At a ceremony that honored a man who always did what the team asked, Branch was also uttering the party line.

"You've just got to come in and do your job and go from there, and that's what I was doing," Branch said, according to ESPNBoston.com. "I think the organization is going to do what's best for the team, whatever they feel is best for the team, and you have to respect that, and I do."

For someone who has done his job for so long, though, the cut was definitely a shock.

"I think all of us are surprised," Branch said of his release. "But it's the nature of the business. It's part of the business."

Branch, an 11-year NFL veteran, played four seasons in New England before being traded to the Seahawks in 2006 after a contract dispute. He returned to New England in 2010 and was a key part of last year's Super Bowl run, racking up 702 yards on 51 receptions with five touchdowns.