The New England Patriots opened two spots on their 90-man roster when they waived cornerback Rashaan Melvin and linebacker James Vaughters.
The Patriots announced the transactions Monday. Both Melvin and Vaughters had been signed to future contracts when the 2015 regular season concluded.
Melvin played in eight games with the Patriots, recording three tackles, in 2015. Vaughters spent the beginning of the 2015 season with the Green Bay Packers before signing with the Patriots in January 2016.
The Patriots went into the 2016 NFL Draft with 76 players on their 90-man roster. They drafted nine players and appear to have signed 10 undrafted free agents.
According to our math, the Patriots must release three more players before they sign their draft picks.
The Patriots also declined to pick up guard Jonathan Cooper’s fifth-year option, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported Monday. Cooper will remain on the Patriots’ roster in 2015, but this move will make him a free agent after the season. Picking up Cooper’s option would have cost the Patriots $11.9 million in 2016.
The Patriots acquired Cooper in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals for Chandler Jones this offseason. In that deal, New England also picked up a second-round draft pick, which it traded to the New Orleans Saints for third- and fourth-round choices it later used to select North Carolina State guard Joe Thuney and Georgia wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell.
Thumbnail photo via Mitch Stringer/USA TODAY Sports Images
