Patriots Release Two Defenders To Make Room For New Additions

The New England Patriots needed to do some house cleaning Saturday after signing free agents C.J. Marable and Micah Vanterpool.

With the Patriots over capacity on the 90-man roster with those additions, they decided to subtract from their defense to get down to the required mark.

New England announced that it released linebacker Olakunle Fatukasi and safety Jourdan Heilig to make room for Marable and Vanterpool on the roster.

Fatukasi signed with the Patriots in January after spending a majority of time last season with Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he played in 13 games and made six tackles, which all came on special teams. The Buccaneers waived Fatukasi in December and then spent a month on the Denver Broncos’ practice squad before getting released.

Fatukasi saw a little bit of time in New England’s preseason opener against the Houston Texans on Thursday night. He played 25 defensive snaps and 13 more on special teams while making two total tackles.

Heilig came to the Patriots as an undrafted free agent out of Appalachian State in May. He only saw the field on special teams against the Texans, failing to record any defensive snaps.

The Patriots now get set for joint practices with the Green Bay Packers this upcoming week with their newcomers in place before the two sides meet for an exhibition contest next Saturday night at Lambeau Field.