Patriots Roster Tracker: The latest news on cutdown day – 98.5 The Sports Hub

We’re almost down to 53 players in New England. We’ll keep you covered every step of the way on cutdown day here at 985TheSportsHub.com with our official Patriots Roster Tracker.

Mike Vrabel and the Patriots front office will need to cut the roster down to 53 players by 4 p.m. EST on Tuesday. There will be other considerations after that point, including players that get moved to short-term injured reserve. They may also explore waivers and the trade market for last-minute additions.

Follow below for the latest news and rumors in the Patriots roster tracker, and keep checking back here at 985TheSportsHub.com for more news, including practice squad additions and any late-breaking stories.

Vrabel and the Pats still have to cut 23 players by the Tuesday deadline, by our count of the official roster. Positions of intrigue ahead of final cuts include wide receiver and defensive line, where there are crowded groups and a number of players seemingly on the bubble. Key individual players to watch Tuesday are safety Kyle Dugger, linebacker Anfernee Jennings, and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne.

Check out the latest Patriots roster updates below…

The Patriots are releasing tight end CJ Dippre, according to Ian Rapoport. Dippre looked like no more than the fourth tight end on the roster throughout camp. The Pats will lean on veterans Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper at the position, with Jack Westover a favorite to take the third spot if they have one.

Patriots insider Andrew Callahan said during the “Toucher & Hardy” show Tuesday that he’s not expecting any major moves out of New England today, with final roster cuts in process. That doesn’t mean the Pats won’t make a trade or claim someone off waivers as part of their moves, but expectations should be low for them to acquire a high-impact player at this point.

According to Adam Schefter, the Houston Texans are releasing veteran tackle Trent Brown. The 32-year-old Brown won a Super Bowl with the Patriots in 2018, then left and returned to play from 2021-23 in New England.

Could Brown come back for a third stint with the Patriots? He’s obviously familiar with the organization and has played both tackle spots, although he hasn’t played for Mike Vrabel. The team could reasonably do worse for a veteran backup behind Will Campbell.

According to Doug Kyed, the Patriots are waiving wide receiver John Jiles. While the Pats lack high-end talent at the position, they’re replete with players worthy of NFL roster spots, so Jiles was always a long shot. Kyed noted that Jiles is a practice squad candidate.

According to Mike Reiss, the Pats are waiving cornerback Brandon Crossley. He was a long shot to make the team, but could come back as a practice squad player.

We have a winner in the Patriots’ kicker competition. As first reported by Mark Daniels, the Pats are waiving kicker Parker Romo. This means that rookie sixth-round pick Andres Borregales has officially won the job.

The Patriots are waiving cornerback Miles Battle, according to Aaron Wilson. Battle played well down the stretch of the preseason, but was always a long shot to crack a deep cornerback group. Battle could be a candidate to return on the practice squad.

As reported by Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, the Patriots are waiving tackle Demontrey Jacobs as part of their final roster cuts. Jacobs started 13 games for the Pats at right tackle last season.

This move was expected, as Jacobs had a bad camp and rookie seventh-round pick Marcus Bryant passed him as the backup right tackle. The Patriots still have Vederian Lowe in the fold at the position, but could look elsewhere for another option to back up first-rounder Will Campbell.

The New York Giants are waiving backup quarterback Tommy DeVito, according to multiple reports. ESPN’s Mike Reiss previously described DeVito as a possibility for the Patriots’ third QB spot, which is open as of this writing on Tuesday. They’d have to leave their roster at 52 players and claim DeVito on Wednesday, in order to bring him in.

According to Adam Schefter, the Houston Texans have discussed trading left tackle Cam Robinson, who signed a one-year deal for $10.75 million guaranteed earlier this off-season. Schefter frames this as the rise of rookie tackle Aireontae Ersery and his readiness to assume the LT role in Houston.

But this also feels like a huge red flag for Robinson, who if traded would be on his fourth team in less than a calendar year. The Patriots are in a “beggars can’t be choosers” situation at their tackle spots, but they’d be better off with a cheaper backup behind rookie left tackle Will Campbell than bring in a potential problem with an overpaid veteran who’s bouncing around the league.

The Patriots already reportedly had Dugger and Jennings on the trade block, but whoever is trying to trade him put out the full-court press on Sunday. Top insider Ian Rapoport reported that the Pats are shopping Dugger for a potential deal.

Dugger is on the books for a $9.75 million salary and another $1.25M in bonuses in 2025, all guaranteed. The Patriots still have to pay that out if they cut him, and they would save less than $1 million against the cap (via Spotrac) in the process.

^{Head coach Mike Vrabel of the New England Patriots talks with Kyle Dugger #23 during 2025 training camp.}

So, it feels like a “keep or trade” situation with Dugger, whose role on the defense has been diminished in recent weeks.

In one of the more bizarre reports ahead of final roster cuts, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says the Patriots are “in a similar situation” to the Jets in that they “have quality offensive tackle depth that garners interest.” It’s incredibly hard to believe that Vederian Lowe or Demontrey Jacobs would legitimately be tradable.

But, it makes sense that the Patriots would want to move on from them, beyond not being good players. Lowe and Jacobs were both inherited, and Vrabel and new senior vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden have made a point to remake as much of the roster as possible.

It’s likely they want to explore waivers and the trade market for backup tackles that better fit what they’re looking for. So one should expect that there’s will be a tackle on the 53-man roster that is somewhere else as of Tuesday morning.

The Patriots have already trimmed 15 players off the previous 91-man roster, most of which Vrabel announced recently. They are:

QB Ben Wooldridge
RB Micah Bernard
RB Shane Watts
WR Phil Lutz
TE Cole Fotheringham
TE Jaheim Bell
G Sidy Sow
G Tyrese Robinson
DT Kyle Peko
DT Philip Blidi
LB RJ Moten
LB Monty Rice
DB Jordan Polk
DB Isaiah Bolden