The New England Patriots’ decision to release Benjamin Watson was both surprising and unsurprising.
While the Patriots have little tight end depth between Ryan Izzo and Matt LaCosse, they also have a penchant for making the unexpected move. On Monday, that unexpected transaction was the release of Watson. The veteran tight end came out of retirement in the spring to rejoin the Patriots, but he was not activated from his four-game suspension ahead of Sunday’s contest against the Washington Redskins, nor by the 4 p.m. ET deadline Monday.
During his weekly appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show,” Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman shared his thoughts on Watson’s release.
“Playing here for so long I’ve seen a lot of stuff go down, you’re never really surprised,” Edelman said. “You kind of keep your head down and just worry about what you’ve got to do to contribute to the team. It’s part of the business, it’s a sucky situation, but unfortunately you’re never surprised.”
Watson reportedly does not intend to retire, but it’s unclear at the moment what kind of interest exists for him around the league.
