Patriots 53 Man Roster – Pre Training Camp Prediction, Morse’s Morsels
(PHOTO: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 7 minutes
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(PHOTO: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 7 minutes
New England Patriots > Patriots Blog
(PHOTO: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports) Pre-Training Camp Roster Prediction
Here is my prediction for the Patriot’s final 53-man roster on the cut-down day! This is not the roster they will start the season with. I expect a few veteran players that are cut to re-sign immediately after the rosters and waivers are established to protect a few players they do not want to expose to waivers. Malcolm Butler is a prime candidate for this type of waiver. Really surprised by the Byron Cowart waivers. Combined with the Malcolm Perry retirement, the Pats start camp with only 84 players. This is not going to hold up over the length of camp, especially with two sets of joint practices.
Quarterback (3) M.Jones, B.Zappe, B.Hoyer
I expect a big second-year jump from Mac Jones and would not be surprised if he is calling his own plays by the end of the season. I may take a herculean effort by Jones to keep the Patriots in games this year. Curious to see what Zappe can bring to the field.
Runningback (4) P.Strong, R.Stevenson, K.Harris, D.Harris
Don’t be surprised if Damien Harris is traded. That would open an opportunity to keep Taylor. Harris is playing in his contract year and if Belichick can get a draft choice next year as opposed to the year after he might pull the trigger.
Wide Receiver (6) J.Meyers, D.Parker, K.Bourne, T.Thornton, T.Nixon, M.Slater,
Agholor is making too much money for the production they are getting from him. Cutting Agholor will open up cap space and playing time for Thornton, otherwise, Thornton is buried as the 4th WR on the roster. Meyers, Parker, and Nixon are all slot receivers.
Tight End (2) H.Henry, J.Smith
Times up for Asiasi and Keene
Center (2) K.Russey, D.Andrews
Russey beats out Ferentz who will end up a phone call away on the shadow roster. The Patriots invested a large guaranteed salary in Russey and don’t want to waste it in this tight salary cap environment.
Guard (3) M.Onwenu, D.Desjarlais, C.Strange
All the pressure is on Strange. Desjarlais come from the CFL and I am curious to see both players in camp.
Tackle (4) I.Wynn, T.Brown, Y.Cajuste, J.Herron
In OTAs and Mini-Camp the Pats used Brown at LT. I don’t think Wynn can play RT. I would like to cut Wynn but they won’t recoup the $10M in salary since it is guaranteed.
Defensive End (1) D.Wise
Patriots play in a sub-defense most of the time. That means only 2 DTs in the game. Wise is a situational pass rusher from the DT position. He is not stout against the run.
Defensive Tackle (4) L.Guy, C.Barmore, D.Godchaux, S.Roberts,
I am intrigued with Roberts potential. Let’s see what he can do in Training Camp. Everyone had a chance to sign Davis and they didn’t, so if they cut him nobody will be knocking his door down to sign him.
Inside Linebacker (5) J.Bentley, C.McGrone, M.Wilson, R.McMillan, J.Tavai
Phillips and Dugger play one of the LB positions in the sub-defense. Tavai is a Special Teams player only.
Outside (5) M.Judon, J.Uche, R.Perkins, A.Jennings (Waivers)
Jennings better show up in camp or he could be gone. The last spot is a player they pick up on waivers.
Cornerback (6) Jo.Jones, J.Mills, M.Jones, J.Bethel, Ja.Jones, T. Mitchell
Butler is a veteran that doesn’t have to pass through waivers and becomes a Free Agent immediately upon his release. He hangs around and resigns before the 1st game.
Strong Safety (2) K.Dugger, A.Phillips
Free Safety (3) D.McCourty, J.Peppers, B.Schooler,
Cody Davis is another veteran that will be cut and re-signed.
Special Teams (3) N.Folk, J.Bailey, J.Cardona
PUP – James White
NFI – Chasen Hines, Andrew Stueber
Total players: 53
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Morse’s Morsels
Byron Cowart Waived
Didn’t see this coming, but it appears that Cowart just can’t stay healthy enough to get on the field. He would have been one of the veterans that reported with the rookies last week. Obviously, the Patriots had seen enough of Cowart! I wonder if he failed the fitness run and that’s when they pulled the plug. Cowart was not waived-injured and was claimed right away by the Indianapolis Colts.
Malcolm Perry Calls It a Career
Former NAVY midshipman QB/WR/RB Malcolm Perry has retired from football. There was little chance of Perry making the team. The Patriots announced they had put him on the Reserve/Retired list. It was reported that Perry intends to return to the NAVY to complete his commitment. I have a tremendous amount of respect for all the cadets and midshipmen, having worked with several of them over my career. I salute you Malcolm Perry and wish you the best fortune in your Naval career.
Active Physically Unable to Play (PUP) list
The Patriots officially announce their PUP list prior to the start of the Pre-season Training Camp. It was not unexpected that James White would be on this list. Also listed were C David Andrews, CB Jon Jones, and S Jabrill Peppers. White is likely to remain on the PUP through the 53-man roster establishment on Tuesday, August 31st (4:00 PM). The other players can come off the list whenever they are ready to practice. If not ready by the cutdown day they would revert to the Reserve PUP list and would need to be inactive for 6 weeks before they could be activated.
Andrews had off-season surgery for a torn labrum. Jones went on IR before the week 7 game with a shoulder injury that required off-season surgery. Peppers had a partial ACL tear with the Giants last year and chose not to have surgery. I don’t think the Patriots would have signed him if they were concerned with his knee injury. He was working on a one-year contract and the Patriots thought so much of him while he was hurt, that they signed him to a contract extension.
Raekwon McMillan was originally on the list but was activated for full participation in Training Camp on Monday. There is a high expectation for McMillan this year. He was having a great training camp last year when he tore his ACL.
Training Camp Open to the Public
The Patriots announced the following dates for open Training Camp Practices. 1st practice sessions are July 27th – July 30th. The second session is from August 1st thru 4th. All practices begin at 9:30 and the gates open at 8:00. Get there early if you want a good seat.
Jason McCourty Retires
Former Patriots CB Jason McCourty announced his retirement from Pro Football. He was not out of work very long. NFL Network announced that Jason McCourty had been signed as a co-host of Good Morning Football. He will join Kyle Brandt, Pete Schrager, Will Selva, and newly appointed co-host Jamie Erdahl. You may remember Erdahl from her time at NESN. She replaces the popular Kay Adams.
I will not forget the outstanding play Jason McCourty made in Super Bowl LIII versus the Los Angeles Rams. J Mac came out of nowhere to break up a sure TD pass to Brandin Cooks. That play and others secured a defensive battle for the Patriot’s victory.
Patriots Assistant Coaches Announced
Not surprisingly Bill Belichick did not name an Offensive Coordinator or a Defensive Coordinator. It remains unclear who will be calling the plays. It appears that the game planning will be done as a collective effort. There are a few changes in the coaching staff. Offensive Line coach Carmen Bricillo left to join Josh McDaniels and the Raiders. Matt Patricia will be the primary O-Line coach with Billy Yates as his assistant. Evan Rothstein is in his 2nd season with the Pats and has been elevated from his Research and Analyst/Coaching position. This will be his 11th season coaching as he came to the Patriots with Matt Patricia from Detroit. Vinnie Sunseri will be elevated from Assistant Runninbacks coach to the Primary RB coach replacing longtime veteran coach Ivan Fears. Ross Douglas comes in as an NFL Coaching Fellowship coach assisting Troy Brown with Wide Receivers.
On Defense, the only change is that V’Angelo Bentley has been added as an NFL Coaching Fellowship / Defense.
I wonder how the Patriots are going to replace the valuable insights that Nick Caserio, Dave Ziegler, and Ernie Adams provided to the team. I am really concerned with the losses of these three contributors as well as Josh McDaniel and Carmen Bricillo. This brain drain is another reason I think the Pats will get off to a slow start.
Ross Douglas: Wide Receivers/NFL Coaching Fellowship
Matt Patricia: Senior Football Adviser/Offensive Line
Joe Judge: Offensive Assistant/Quarterbacks
Nick Caley: Tight Ends
Evan Rothstein: Offensive Assistant
Vinnie Sunseri: Running Backs
Billy Yates: Assistant Offensive Line
Tyler Hughes: Offensive Assistant
Troy Brown: Wide Receivers/Kickoff Returners
Steve Belichick: Linebackers
Brian Belichick: Safeties
Mike Pellegrino: Cornerbacks
Marcus Covington: Defensive Line
Jerod Mayo: Linebackers
V’Angelo Bentley: NFL Coaching Fellowship/Defense
Specialties
Cam Achord: Special Teams Coordinator
Joe Houston: Special Teams Assistant
Moses Cabrera: Head Strength and Conditioning
Deron Mayo: Strength and Conditioning Assistant
Green Bay League Payment Released
Since Green Bay is a publicly traded/owned company the payment the league makes to each team has to be disclosed publicly. Green Bay received $347M as their franchise share of league revenues. Other team revenues bring that total to $579M. The Salary Cap of players’ salaries is $182.5M. I have always said that owning an NFL team is a license to print money. Perhaps the NFL should consider lowering the price of tickets and lowering of the cost to view games that will be streamed.
Condoleeza Rice Joins the Broncos Ownership Group
Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has joined the ownership group of the Denver Broncos. Rice, an avid football fan, grew up the daughter of a football coach. She was rumored at one time to be in line to become the next Commissioner of Football. Rice, the second member of the ownership group is an African-American woman. The other member is Mellody Hobson, an accomplished businesswoman in her own right is the wife of director George Lucas. The majority owner is 77-year-old Rob Walton, the eldest member of the Walton family (Walmart) who has a net worth in excess of 60 Billion. Also, included in the ownership group are his daughter Carrie Walton-Penner and son-in-law, Greg Penner.
Houston Rookie WR to Miss 2022 Season
John Metchie, the rookie wideout from Alabama has been diagnosed with Leukemia and will likely miss the entire 2022 season for Houston. Metchie had 96 catches for 1142 yards and 8 TDs for the Crimson Tice last year. He was already recovering from off-season surgery to repair a torn ACL sustained in the SEC Championship. Many Patriots fans saw Metchie as a potential selection by the home team. I wish nothing but the best for this young man as he enters the battle of his life.
Congrats to Patriots.com for signing Evan Lazar
Formerly of CLNS Media, I was happy and yet sad that Evan Lazar took a position with Patriots.com. I think he will lose his ability to be an independent thinker and be able to criticize the organization. I hope he is able to continue his fine draft writing. He is one of the best Patriots writers you don’t know of.
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