The New England Patriots have until next Tuesday to get their team below the NFL’s 53-player threshold, but they have already started trimming their roster.
As was announced by head coach Mike Vrabel on Friday, the team has parted ways with 14 players.
Quarterback Ben Wooldridge, running backs Micah Bernard and Shane Watts, wide receiver Phil Lutz Jr., tight ends Jaheim Bell and Cole Fotheringham, offensive linemen Sidy Sow and Tyrese Robinson, defensive tackles Kyle Peko and Philip Blidi, linebackers Monty Rice and R.J. Moten and cornerbacks Jordon Polk and Isaiah Bolden have been let go. All of them were considered longshots to make the team.
Wooldridge and Polk both joined the Patriots as members of their initial class of rookie free agents earlier this offseason. Bernard, Watts, Lutz, Fotheringham, Peko, Blidi and Moten were all added since the start of training camp in late July.
The longest-tenured players on the list are Bell, Sow, Robinson, Rice and Bolden. Sow and Bolden both joined the Patriots in the 2023 NFL Draft, getting selected in the fourth and seventh rounds, respectively. Bell was added as a seventh-rounder a year later, with Robinson and Rice brought aboard as in-season signings last November.
As a result of Friday’s moves, the Patriots’ roster now stands at 77 players, including roster exempt international player David Olajiga. The team will need to move 24 more players before the 4 p.m. ET deadline on Aug. 26.
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