Patriots Reportedly Part Ways With Long Shot Wide Receiver

The New England Patriots shuffled their wide receiver corps for a second straight day.

After Jalen Hurd retired Tuesday and the Patriots filled his roster spot with Thyrick Pitts, New England made another move Wednesday by reportedly releasing wideout Ed Lee, according to WPRI’s Sam Knox, who cited sources. The Patriots now have an open spot on their 90-man roster.

Lee was a long shot to make the Patriots out of training camp despite showing some occasional flashes during the practice sessions. The 24-year-old didn’t practice Wednesday after appearing to sustain an injury the day prior, per NESN.com’s Zack Cox.

The Patriots initially signed the University of Rhode Island product in early June. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound pass-catcher recorded 56 receptions for 908 yards and five touchdowns in his final collegiate season with the Rams. He earned All-CAA Second Team honors due to that production.

Lee was far down on the Patriots depth chart, especially with New England selecting two receivers in this year’s draft.

Even with Lee reportedly no longer in the mix for the Patriots, there’s still plenty of competition going on at wide receiver. JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, Tyquan Thornton, Demario Douglas, Kayson Boutte, who impressed Wednesday, Tre Nixon, Malik Cunningham and Pitts make up the positional group for New England a week into training camp.