Patriots Release Adrian Clayborn, Clear $4M In Salary Cap Space

The latest bit of New England Patriots transaction news came courtesy of the player himself.

Defensive end Adrian Clayborn announced Friday on Twitter he had been cut by the Patriots after one season with the team.

Clayborn, who was a healthy scratch for two games late in the regular season but played in all three playoff games, said he asked for his release but has great respect for the Patriots organization.

Cutting Clayborn frees up roughly $4 million in salary cap space for the Patriots, who needed to make some sort of cap-clearing move to sign the various free agents they’d reportedly agreed to contracts with.

Clayborn, who previously spent time with the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, tallied 11 tackles, 2 1/2 sacks, three tackles for loss and 13 quarterback hits in 14 games as a sub rusher for the Patriots. The 30-year-old signed a two-year, $10 million contract last spring and was set to count for $5.9 million against the cap in 2019.

With Clayborn and Trey Flowers now gone, the Patriots’ depth chart at defensive end consists of newcomer Michael Bennett, John Simon, Deatrich Wise, Derek Rivers, Ufomba Kamalu and Keionta Davis.