So, Kelly is a starting DT for the patriots because he started in the preseason?
The patriots have apparently made the decision that Kelly would be a backup for the patriots. Wilfork and Easley are our starting DT's with Jones the first off the bench. Siliga is on the roster as the backup NT.
We can say that Kelly is a better choice than Easley and Jones. We are posters; we can say almost anything.
No one here WANTED Vellano on the roster. IMHO, we chose 2 from Smith, Moore, Vellano and Worthy.
I suspect that Kelly's health is an issue. Given the health issues, I suspect that if Kelly stayed, it would have been in addition to the DT's we kept.
BOTTOM LINE
We upgraded Kelly by signing and playing Easley. We have retained the players who STARTED all last year and gave us a top 10 defense. And yes, we retained our backup DT from last year, when Kelly wouldn't accept a backup role with severely limited reps. Personally, I wanted Worthy, but given the injuries, Belichick wanted someone ready to be a backup now.