The New England Patriots pared down its roster on Wednesday, with the club getting down to the mandatory 53-man roster limit ahead of the 2024 NFL Season.
Here’s a quick position-by-position look at who made this year’s roster:
PATRIOTS DEFENSE:
Cornerbacks (7): Christian Gonzalez, Marco Wilson, Marcus Jones, Marcellas Dial, Alex Austin, Isaiah Bolden, Jonathan Jones
Safeties (4): Jabril Peppers, Jaylinn Hawkins, Kyle Dugger, Dell Pettus
Defensive Tackles (5): Deatrich Wise Jr., Davon Godchaux, Daniel Ekuale, Jeremiah Pharms Jr., Tristen Hill
Edge (4): Keion White, Anfernee Jennings, Joshua Uche, Oshane Ximines
Linebackers (4): Ja’Whaun Bentley, Jahlani Tavai, Christian Ellis, Raekwon McMillan
TOTAL DEFENSIVE PLAYERS: 24
Summary: Dial making the roster was somewhat of a surprise, especially after some struggles late in camp seemed to have him poised to possibly be waived and maybe end up on the practice squad. Shaun Wade’s release was probably the most surprising, as he played well for the most part and had plenty of experience in this defense. But unfortunately for the veteran, the team clearly decided to go in another direction.
Seeing Pettus make the team was good to see. He really came on strong late, and it appears the club has rewarded him accordingly. Seeing Bolden make the team after making his own late push is also encouraging, and now it’s up to him to hopefully make the most of this opportunity.
Meanwhile, the defensive line saw both Jeremiah Pharms and Tristen Hill earn a spot, with Daniel Ekuale also among this group. They face the tall task of needing to fill the hole left by Christian Barmore, who will start the season on the non-football injury list.
With Matthew Judon now out of the mix, Keion White, Anfernee Jennings, and Joshua Uche will need to generate some pressure off the edge, with Oshane Ximines’ injury situation being one that bears watching.
Overall, it feels like the club wanted to focus on developing younger players, and that’s certainly what happened. We’ll see if it pays off.
(PHOTO: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports)
PATRIOTS OFFENSE:
Offensive Line (9): David Andrews, Nick Leverett, Layden Robinson, Michael Jordan, Sidy Sow, Caedan Wallace, Chukwuma Okorafor, Mike Onwenu, Vederian Lowe
Quarterbacks (3): Jacoby Brissett, Drake Maye, Joe Milton III
Running backs (3): Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson, JaMycal Hasty
Tight Ends (3): Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, Jaheim Bell
Wide Receiver (7): Demario Douglas, Tyquan Thornton, Ja’Lynn Polk, K.J. Osborn, Jalen Reagor, Javon Baker, Kayshon Boutte
TOTAL OFFENSIVE PLAYERS: 25
Sumary: It was disappointing to see Calvin Anderson be unable to put together a comeback story for this season, with Anderson being placed on injured reserve ahead of cutdowns. Instead, it appears that Chukwuma Okorafor is going to be the player they need to rely on until Vederian Lowe is healthy, and left tackle obviously remains the biggest question mark on offense heading into this season.
Hasty’s speed was certainly noticeable this preseason, which likely played a role in the club’s decision to choose him over Kevin Harris, who was among the club’s cuts. Harris might still come back to the practice squad, but the fact he was cut was a little surprising.
Bailey Zappe’s cut may not have been a surprise, but it’s a reminder that the team is moving forward with players like Maye and Milton, both of whom are certainly more physically gifted. Whether or not Zappe’s time in New England is really over in terms of whether or not he could end up on the practice squad is unknown, but if so, it will be interesting to see where he ends up.
At the same time, the club absolutely needs a veteran presence on its practice squad, given Milton’s inconsistency. Milton’s physical tools made him too big of a risk to waive him, but he’s absolutely not ready to play right now after a 5-of-17 (29.4%) passing performance Sunday night. He’s a project player with plenty of upside. It just might be a while until he starts to reach it.
Otherwise, the biggest surprise was the fact the club opted to keep seven wideouts, likely ensuring that Kayshon Boutte’s journey here in New England might continue. He may not have survived waivers, which explains why they opted to go with seven here.
Still, there’s likely a battle ahead between Reagor and Osborn, with Thornton’s future also not necessarily being certain if he falters the way he has in past years.
Baker’s another player who needs to hopefully develop this season, as he tapered off significantly the longer camp went on and looked better on special teams than he did catching passes. For a team that needs weapons, they have to hope some of these guys can emerge in an offense that needs all the help it can get.
PATRIOTS SPECIAL TEAMS:
ST (4): Brenden Schooler, Bryce Baringer, Joe Cardona, Joey Slye
Summary: The biggest surprise here was obviously the club’s decision to move on from Chad Ryland, although it’s probably safe to say most people saw this coming.
Slye was the more consistent kicker in camp, and that appears to be the way the Patriots decided to lean heading into the season. However, if he struggles out of the gate and can’t get it together, that will obviously be a problem. It feels like it might make sense to bring Ryland back to the practice squad if he’s up for it, but it’s tough to say if that would be the case.
It sounds like the team tried to get something for him after one report indicated the club tried exploring trade options but couldn’t find any ahead of letting him go. For now it remains to be seen what his future might hold, and the Patriots can only hope they made the right call here.
PUP List (3): Cole Strange, Kendrick Bourne, Sione Takitaki
Injured Reserve (3 New Additions): Armon Watts, Calvin Anderson, Marte Mapu
Non-Football Injury Related: Christian Barmore
This group likely isn’t set in stone as Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo have already talked about being active on the waiver wire. For now, this is the initial group they have until then as they start getting ready to face the Bengals in two weeks.
You can view the full 2024 Patriots Roster, which is a live page and subject to change.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
A hidden (I think) issue is DT. I would fear Joe Mixon/CIN and others will run for 4.x yds/carry between the tackles. If so it opens the door for easy play action completions and the defense losses it’s teeth. It’s not just Baremore’s loss. They lost Lawrence Guy whom was a semi solid anchor type. Replaced him with Armon Watts whom just went on IR. So the only “starter” left is Godshaux. Equale is a good player, but he’s more of a disruptor for passing downs and not an anchor. Pharms, gosh I hope he’s good in there. Tristen Hill… Read more »
NBC Boston saying to start Brisset vs CIN, but mostly due to the o-line and not risking Maye. They declared Maye the winner of summer play. That is a marginal statement given he struggled for 1/2 of the summer. Bottom line is the competitive measure NBC boston is using is sumer game play and lesser on practice, where summer games are not even close to being a regular season class game. Hogan said it. Parcels, BB, and AVP all said it one form or fashion. AVP said, Maye is still trying to learn facets of the offense that Brissett knows.… Read more »