But more changes are coming
The cuts have been made. The moves are done. The Patriots’ 53-man roster is finalized.
Well, sort of.
The initial 53 that New England announced Tuesday afternoon almost certainly will undergo further alterations ahead of the team’s Sept. 10 season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium. Waiver claims, free agent pickups, late trades and injured reserve designations all are commonplace at this point in the NFL calendar. Some of the players released Tuesday could be back on the roster in a few days’ time.
Case in point: The Patriots currently only have one quarterback after cutting Trace McSorley, Malik Cunningham and Bailey Zappe.
“There’s going to be changes on our roster and every other roster in the league,” head coach Bill Belichick said before final cuts were announced. “Every single team will have roster transactions over the next multiple days, including some up until the day before the opener. It’s a process. We’ll work through it. Some guys will come back. Some guys won’t. … The process is far from being over. We’re right in the middle of it.”
With that said, here is the Patriots’ initial 53-man roster, divided by position. Click here for their full list of roster cuts.
QUARTERBACK (1): Mac Jones
RUNNING BACK (2): Rhamondre Stevenson, Ezekiel Elliott
TIGHT END (2): Hunter Henry, Mike Gesicki
WIDE RECEIVER (6): JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, Tyquan Thornton, Demario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte
OFFENSIVE TACKLE (6): Trent Brown, Calvin Anderson, Riley Reiff, Sidy Sow, Tyrone Wheatley Jr., Vederian Lowe
INTERIOR OFFENSIVE LINE (5): David Andrews, Cole Strange, Mike Onwenu, Atonio Mafi, Jake Andrews
DEFENSIVE LINE (7): Davon Godchaux, Lawrence Guy, Christian Barmore, Deatrich Wise, Keion White, Daniel Ekuale, Sam Roberts
LINEBACKER (7): Matthew Judon, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Marte Mapu, Jahlani Tavai, Josh Uche, Anfernee Jennings, Mack Wilson
CORNERBACK (6): Christian Gonzalez, Jonathan Jones, Jack Jones, Marcus Jones, Myles Bryant, Shaun Wade
SAFETY (4): Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips, Jabrill Peppers, Jalen Mills
SPECIALISTS (7): K Chad Ryland, P Bryce Baringer, LS Joe Cardona, ST Matthew Slater, ST Brenden Schooler, ST Chris Board, ST Ameer Speed