The Patriots made a change at the lower rungs of their wide receiver depth chart Tuesday.
New England released veteran wide receiver Laquon Treadwell from their practice squad ahead of their Week 5 matchup with the Detroit Lions.
Tredwell signed with the Patriots ahead of their season opener after one season in Jacksonville, one in Atlanta and four in Minnesota. His release opens a spot for quarterback Garrett Gilbert, whom New England reportedly plans to sign to its practice squad for additional depth behind fourth-round rookie Bailey Zappe.
Zappe entered the week as the Patriots' only healthy QB with Mac Jones (ankle) and Brian Hoyer (head) both recovering from injuries. It remains to be seen whether either will recover in time to play Sunday against Detroit. Gilbert, whose signing was not listed on Tuesday's NFL transaction wire, spent most of last season on New England's practice squad before signing with Washington in mid-December.
The Patriots still have two wide receivers on their P-squad in Tre Nixon and Lynn Bowden, in addition to the five they have on their 53-man roster (Jakobi Meyers, DeVante Parker, Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne and Lil'Jordan Humphrey). Rookie Tyquan Thornton is eligible to return from injured reserve this week but might not yet be ready to do so.
With offensive tackle Marcus Cannon reverting to the practice squad after being elevated for Sunday's overtime loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Patriots have one open spot on their 53. New England could choose to officially promote Cannon later in the week, as Yodny Cajuste's move to injured reserve left the team without any rostered backup tackles.
