Patriots 53-Man Roster Projection: Surprising Cuts At D-Line, Receiver

The New England Patriots have one more preseason game before they must trim their roster to 75 players, but they’ve already started making cuts.

The Patriots released safeties Cedric Thompson and Brock Vereen, tight end Bear Pascoe and cornerback V’Angelo Bentley, bringing their roster down to 86 players. More potential roster spots also opened up this week with reports that Sebastian Vollmer will be placed on a reserve list to start the season and running back Dion Lewis will start the year on the physically unable to perform list.

See how Patriots beat reporters Doug Kyed and Zack Cox see the 53-man roster shaking out. Names are listed in alphabetical order and not how they rank on the depth chart.

QUARTERBACK
Doug Kyed
In: Jacoby Brissett, Jimmy Garoppolo (2)
Suspended: Tom Brady (four games)
Out: None
No surprises here. Garoppolo will start the first four games of the season, and Brissett has been solid for a rookie.

Zack Cox
In: Jacoby Brissett, Jimmy Garoppolo (2)
Suspended: Tom Brady (four games)
Out: None
It has been a strange few days for Brady, but nothing that has changed the Pats’ quarterback outlook.

RUNNING BACK
Kyed
In: LeGarrette Blount, Brandon Bolden, James Develin, Tyler Gaffney, James White (5)
Out: Donald Brown, D.J. Foster, Joey Iosefa
PUP: Dion Lewis
I’ll wait to put Brown on the roster over Gaffney until we see him healthy enough to stay on the main practice field during positional drills. I still think there’s a good chance we’ll see this position addressed via trade before the end of the summer.

Cox
In: LeGarrette Blount, Brandon Bolden, James Develin, Tyler Gaffney, James White (5)
Out: D.J. Foster, Donald Brown, Joey Iosefa
PUP: Dion Lewis
UPDATE: It did not take the Patriots long to prove me wrong on this one. They reportedly released Brown on Tuesday. Now, Gaffney should get the nod unless they bring in another back, which certainly is a possibility.

WIDE RECEIVER
Kyed
In: Danny Amendola, Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, Keshawn Martin, Malcolm Mitchell, Matthew Slater (6)
Out: DeAndre Carter, Aaron Dobson, Chris Harper, Devin Lucien, Nate Washington
Martin returned to the main practice field Monday, so we’ll likely see him Friday in the Patriots’ third preseason game. It’s worth noting Amendola remains on PUP. If, for some reason, he starts the season on PUP, then Dobson could grab his 53-man roster spot.

Cox
In: Danny Amendola, Aaron Dobson, Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell, Matthew Slater (6)
Out: DeAndre Carter, Chris Harper, Devin Lucien, Keshawn Martin, Nate Washington
Washington did not see the field in the first half of preseason game No. 2, and Martin did not play at all for the second week in a row. Martin appears close to returning from injury, but Dobson might have the inside track on the fifth receiver spot for now.

TIGHT END
Kyed
In: Martellus Bennett, A.J. Derby, Rob Gronkowski (3)
Out: Clay Harbor, Steven Scheu, Bryce Williams
Derby has been considerably better than Harbor during the preseason. If he was cut, there’s enough tape on Derby for him to be claimed by another team.

Cox
In: Martellus Bennett, A.J. Derby, Rob Gronkowski (3)
Out: Clay Harbor, Steven Scheu, Bryce Williams
I believed Derby had an edge over Harbor before last Thursday’s game. After Derby’s six-catch, one-touchdown performance against the Bears, that hasn’t changed.

OFFENSIVE LINE
Kyed
In: David Andrews, Marcus Cannon, Jonathan Cooper, Josh Kline, Shaq Mason, Nate Solder, Bryan Stork, Joe Thuney, LaAdrian Waddle (9)
PUP: Sebastian Vollmer, Tre’ Jackson
Out: Chris Barker, Cameron Fleming, Jon Halapio, Ted Karras, Keavon Milton
It makes more sense to keep Vollmer on PUP rather than move him to injured reserve. It also makes sense to keep Jackson on PUP to open another roster spot. I only have the Patriots keeping three tackles in this situation because Stork and Thuney can play there in an emergency. The Patriots can store Fleming on the practice squad.

Cox
In: David Andrews, Marcus Cannon, Tre’ Jackson, Josh Kline, Shaq Mason, Nate Solder, Bryan Stork, Joe Thuney, LaAdrian Waddle (9)
Injured reserve: Jonathan Cooper, Sebastian Vollmer
Out: Chris Barker, Cameron Fleming, Jon Halapio, Ted Karras, Keavon Milton
Injuries to Vollmer and Mason should help Stork lock down a roster spot even if he can’t beat out Andrews for the starting center job. Karras could be a dark horse to nab a roster spot as a rookie, but I see him sticking on the practice squad for now.

DEFENSIVE LINE
Kyed
In: Alan Branch, Malcom Brown, Trey Flowers, Geneo Grissom, Terrance Knighton, Chris Long, Rob Ninkovich, Jabaal Sheard, Vincent Valentine (9)
Out: Woodrow Hamilton, Anthony Johnson, Rufus Johnson, Frank Kearse, Markus Kuhn, Joe Vellano
I almost booted Branch, Grissom or Knighton for Anthony Johnson, but I’ll wait to see Johnson flash another week. If the Patriots planned to cut Branch, they would have done it this spring or instead of suspending him. Knighton struggled Thursday, but he has too good of a track record to be released for preseason performance.

Cox
In: Alan Branch, Malcom Brown, Trey Flowers, Geneo Grissom, Anthony Johnson, Chris Long, Rob Ninkovich, Jabaal Sheard, Vincent Valentine (9)
Out: Woodrow Hamilton, Rufus Johnson, Terrance Knighton, Markus Kuhn, Frank Kearse, Joe Vellano
Is it an overreaction to put Anthony Johnson on the 53-man based on his performance in one preseason game? Maybe. Probably. But man, was he a beast against Chicago. I’m looking forward to seeing whether he can replicate it this week against Carolina. Knighton, who has been underwhelming so far, is my big surprise cut.

LINEBACKER
Kyed
In: Jamie Collins, Jonathan Freeny, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Dont’a Hightower, Brandon King, Shea McClellin (6)
Out: Ramon Humber, Elandon Roberts, Kevin Snyder
The Patriots could add more linebacker depth via trade. If they do, it could come at Freeny’s expense.

Cox
In: Jamie Collins, Jonathan Freeny, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Dont’a Hightower, Brandon King, Shea McClellin (6)
Out: Ramon Humber, Elandon Roberts, Kevin Snyder
No change here for me. I still can’t see Snyder, Humber or Roberts making it over any of these guys.

CORNERBACK
Kyed
In: Malcolm Butler, Justin Coleman, Cyrus Jones, Cre’von LeBlanc, Logan Ryan (5)
Out: E.J. Biggers, Jonathan Jones, Darryl Roberts
I might just keep swapping between LeBlanc and Jonathan Jones. There’s a chance both will make the roster. The Patriots could roster six cornerbacks or keep either LeBlanc or Jones over Coleman.

Cox
In: Malcolm Butler, Justin Coleman, Cyrus Jones, Jonathan Jones, Logan Ryan (5)
Out: E.J. Biggers, Cre’von LeBlanc, Darryl Roberts
The Patriots released V’Angelo Bentley on Monday, leaving Jonathan Jones, LeBlanc, Biggers and Roberts battling for the final spot. Roberts had a very nice game against the Bears and could unseat Jones here with another strong showing against the Panthers.

SAFETY
Kyed
In: Patrick Chung, Nate Ebner, Duron Harmon, Devin McCourty, Jordan Richards(5)
Out: Vinnie Sunseri
The Patriots love safeties, so I wouldn’t be shocked if they signed or traded for another player at this position.

Cox
In: Patrick Chung, Nate Ebner, Duron Harmon, Devin McCourty, Jordan Richards (5)
Out: Vinnie Sunseri
Cedric Thompson got the ax Monday. Barring injury, this unit should be set.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Kyed
In: P Ryan Allen, LS Joe Cardona, K Stephen Gostkowski (3)

Cox
In: P Ryan Allen, LS Joe Cardona, K Stephen Gostkowski (3)

IDEAL PRACTICE SQUAD
Kyed: WR Carter, OT Fleming, RB Foster, DT Anthony Johnson, DE Rufus Johnson, CB Jonathan Jones, OL Karras, LB Roberts, CB Roberts, TE Williams
Cox: WR Carter, OT Fleming, RB Foster, RB Gaffney, WR Harper, DE Rufus Johnson, OL Karras, CB LeBlanc, WR Lucien, CB Roberts

Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images