The New England Patriots’ evaluation of their receiving corps won’t end after Friday night’s preseason finale.
Two days after visiting the Las Vegas Raiders in their third and final exhibition game, the Patriots plan to host free agent receiver Dazz Newsome for a workout, Pro Football Focus’s Doug Kyed reported Friday.
Newsome was drafted in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Bears and spent nearly his entire rookie season on Chicago’s practice squad, appearing in three games and catching two passes for 23 yards. The Bears cut him earlier this week.
Listed at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, the 23-year-old North Carolina product had two catches for 27 yards and a touchdown and one carry for 13 yards in two appearances this preseason. Newsome also has extensive punt-return experience but muffed one during Chicago’s preseason opener against Kansas City.
“After the first two weeks of camp, Newsome appeared firmly in the running to earn the sixth and final receiver spot on the Bears’ roster,” NBC Sports Chicago’s Josh Schrock wrote after Newsome’s release. “But the return of Tajae Sharpe from the NFI list and Newsome’s misadventures on special teams in the first two preseason games put him behind the eight ball. A big drop on a deep (pass) from Trevor Siemian during Sunday’s practice likely was the final straw.”
Newsome also tested poorly at last year’s NFL Scouting Combine. According to Mockdraftable, he ranked in the 33rd percentile or worse among wideouts in the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, bench press, three-cone drill and short shuttle, as well as for height, weight, arm length, hand size and wingspan. His three-cone time — a key metric for the Patriots — ranked in the second percentile, and his 10-yard split was fourth percentile.
The Patriots enter Friday night’s game with nine receivers on their 80-man roster: Jakobi Meyers, DeVante Parker, Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne, Tyquan Thornton, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Kristian Wilkerson, Tre Nixon and Josh Hammond.
Thornton likely will be placed on injured reserve after the 53-man roster cutdown deadline (next Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET) as he recovers from a shoulder injury suffered last week.
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