NFL Rumors: Patriots Cut Center Russell Bodine, Re-Sign James Ferentz

Russell Bodine’s New England Patriots’ tenure was short-lived.

On Friday, the Patriots cut Bodine, whom they’d acquired in a trade just six days earlier, and re-signed center/guard James Ferentz, according to multiple reports.

Jim McBride of The Boston Globe was the first to report the roster move.

The Patriots traded a 2020 sixth-round draft pick to the Buffalo Bills last Saturday for Bodine, who’s started 74 games at center for the Bills and Cincinnati Bengals over the last five seasons. The 27-year-old was expected to compete with Ted Karras for the starting center job with usual starter David Andrews (blood clots) on season-ending injured reserve.

“Russell’s had a solid career,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Sunday. “(He has) quite a bit of experience playing center for Cincinnati and then most recently for Buffalo. He’s also played guard in the past, so we’ll see how it goes. … But he’s, at this point, one of the more experienced players on our team in terms of NFL experience.”

There’s still a chance Bodine could return to Patriots in the coming weeks, according to a report from ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

Ferentz, 30, spent the final three months of the 2018 season on New England’s 53-man roster but was active for just two games. He was released this past weekend during final roster cuts.

The Patriots open the regular season this Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium.