Patriots Reveal New Round Of Roster Cuts In Latest Practice

FOXBORO, Mass. — The roster cutdown process is underway in New England.

With Tuesday afternoon’s cutdown deadline looming, a number of roster-bubble players were absent from Sunday’s Patriots practice outside Gillette Stadium.

Those players were:

TE Scotty Washington
S Brad Hawkins
RB C.J. Marable
CB Rodney Randle
LB Diego Fagot
OL Micah Vanterpool
TE Johnny Lumpkin
DT Justus Tavai

There also was no sign of defensive tackle Carl Davis, cornerback Quandre Mosely and linebacker Carson Wells, whose releases were reported before practice.

Those 11 players should represent close to a third of the cuts New England will need to make to get down to the NFL-mandated 53-man limit. The Patriots came out of Friday night’s preseason finale against the Tennessee Titans with 89 players on their roster, meaning they needed to remove a total of 36 through cuts, trades or injured reserve designations.

Of these apparent cuts, only Davis was a mild surprise. He appeared in all but one game for New England over the last two seasons and seemed to have a role as a reserve run stuffer.

Ten other Patriots players who are dealing with injuries also were absent during the open media portion of Sunday’s practice:

CB Isaiah Bolden
WR Tyquan Thornton
CB Christian Gonzalez
ST Cody Davis
LB Ronnie Perkins
DE Trey Flowers
OL Kody Russey
OL Riley Reiff
OT Conor McDermott
OT Calvin Anderson

Gonzalez was the most notable name on that list. The first-round draft pick dressed for Friday night’s game but did not play after suffering an apparent ankle/foot injury in Wednesday’s practice. Reiff left the Tennessee game after a teammate landed on his right leg.

On a positive note, veteran cornerback Jonathan Jones practiced for the first time since Aug. 3, though he was not wearing a practice jersey while reporters were present. Starting guards Cole Strange and Mike Onwenu also both participated.

Tight end Mike Gesicki shed the red non-contact jersey he sported last week, showing more positive progress in his return from a dislocated shoulder. Wide receiver Demario Douglas, who was limited earlier in the week with a reported shoulder issue, did wear a non-contact jersey.

New offensive tackle Tyrone Wheatley Jr. was not present at practice. The Patriots traded running back Pierre Strong to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday morning to acquire Wheatley, who will add depth to their depleted O-line.

The Patriots must have their initial 53-man roster set by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. They open the regular season on Sunday, Sept. 10 at home against the Philadelphia Eagles.