This time of year usually is rough for players on the fringe of making an NFL roster. But an unfortunate incident made a bad week even worse for Joe Vellano.
The 27-year-old defensive lineman was released by the New England Patriots this weekend as the team whittled its roster to 53 players. As it turns out, though, a job wasn’t the only thing he lost.
Vellano’s Attleboro, Mass., home was destroyed by a fire last Thursday while he was in New York preparing for the Patriots’ preseason finale against the Giants, according to Albany news station WRGB.
Cutting a player who just lost his house in a fire might seem cruel, but that’s unfortunately part of the business, as Vellano was among the odd men out on New England’s crowded defensive line.
Vellano’s brutal week had a happy ending, too, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Vellano has spent part of each of his four NFL seasons with the Patriots after the team signed him as an undrafted rookie in 2013. It appears the Maryland product will spend the 2016 season with the Falcons, however, so here’s hoping he can find a new home — both literally and figuratively — in Atlanta.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
