MORSE: Patriots Final 53-Man Roster Projection

There is plenty of room for improvement on this roster. They lack quality depth, and poor drafting has stripped them of these depth players. Eliot Wolf’s 2024 draft was a disaster outside of the Drake Maye pick. After Sunday’s cuts, Maye will be the only player left from that draft class. Oh, and it was Wolf who didn’t draft Ladd McConkey but traded that pick to the Los Angeles Chargers for Ja’lynn Polk and Javon Baker. Both are out of the NFL within two years.

This year’s draft class isn’t looking too good either. Perhaps we need to start looking at Eliot Wolf as being part of the problem. The team also doesn’t seem to be adhering to the “Packer Way” of Draft and Develop.

This year’s Draft Class is not looking too bright either. Both Caleb Lomu and Gabe Jacas have a long way to go before they could be considered NFL-caliber players. They have both disappointed so far, and it looks like 2026 is going to be a Red Shirt year for both. Eli Raridon looks like the star of the draft class. Kayron Prunty should be a star on Special Teams, but has a long way to go to becoming an NFL cornerback.

Dametrious Crownover has potential, and there are not many OTs with his size. He is raw and a project. Behren Morton has had his ups and downs, as most rookies do, but he has shown enough to make the PS. I have been surprised by Quintayvious Hutchins. He will contribute on STs right away and is a better pass rusher than Gabe Jacas (which isn’t saying much).

If I were the Patriots, I would be calling and offering draft picks to other teams about players that might get cut, and risk losing them through waivers for nothing, to get a low-round pick instead. It’s time for Ryan Cowden to step up and identify some players that can help the Patriots.

Two players can be designated as Injured Reserve/ Designated For Return (IR/DFR)

Aug 22, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tommy DeVito (16) hands off to running back Hassan Haskins (26) during the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images — **(PHOTO: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images)**

Offense 24

QB (2) Drake Maye, Tommy DeVito,

Cut: Behren Morton (PS)

Morton’s play against Cleveland was atrocious. Two INTs and a 3^rd that was called back by a Pass Interference penalty. Morton can be elevated three times, but I suspect the Patriots will be looking for a 3^rd QB like they did last season when they claimed Tommy DeVito. The big difference is they are 31^st in the waiver claim order, not 4^th like last year. They may have to trade for these players.

RB (4) Rhamondre Stevenson, TreVeyon Henderson, Lan Larison, Reggie Gilliam

Cut: Hassan Haskins (PS), Jam Miller (PS) and James Hasty (PS)

Wouldn’t be surprised if Larison gets cut and they claim another running back on waivers.

Haskins is a big (6’2”, 225-pounds) back that has been pounding the rock. He was a Mike Vrabel draft pick (4^th Round) when Vrabel was in Tennessee. Haskins only played 7 snaps against the Eagles, and does that indicate he has made the team? Against the Browns, Haskins had 11 carries for 38 yards, for only a 3.5 average. Many of those yards he got on his own effort because of the poor play of the offensive line.

Larison started and had 2 targets and 0 catches. One was tipped at the Line of Scrimmage and could have been caught, and the other was thrown behind him; he was able to spin around and got both hands on the ball but dropped it. Both of those were on Tommy DeVito and not Larison. He also had 5 yards on 2 carries. In total, he played in only 8 plays. After the Philly game, he practiced in a Red Non-Contact shirt, so maybe he re-injured himself against Cleveland. The other way to look at it was that he started and has already made the team. He had a tough time running with the Third Team O-line against Indy.

However, he had 6 catches and should have had three others (a penalty wiped out a 28-yard gain, and two passes by Morton were thrown at his feet. He would have been player of the game except for Morton’s heroics. Larison ran hard and picked up key 1^st downs after being hit in the backfield on 4^th and 1. Another was a third-down play where they needed 6 yards, and he got 7 with yards after contact. That was in the two-minute drill at the end of the game.

Miller may have had better rushing stats, but he missed an easy swing pass that killed the opening drive against Indy. You can see the flash by Miller. Miller doesn’t play Special Teams, where Larison and Haskins do. Haskins was unsigned up until last week and is not a threat to sign with anyone else. Haskins and Miller should make the Practice Squad. Hasty had a costly fumble last week and again wasn’t signed until last week.

TE (3) Hunter Henry, Eli Raridon, Tanner Arkin

Cut: Jack Westover and CJ Dippre (both candidates for the PS)

Arkin may be cut if the Patriots can find another player better or have a need at another position (DT DaQuan Jones?). Arkin should pass through waivers to the PS. That would be three TEs on the PS, and each could be elevated 3 times if they need a 3rd TE.

WR (6) A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs, Mack Hollins, Kyle Williams, Demario Douglas, Efton Chism III

Cut: Cameron Dorner, Nick Gennaro, Kyle Dixon, Tejhaun Palmer

I would have kept all seven WRs, and I didn’t think the Patriots got enough for Boutte to trade him to a conference contender.

Kyle Dixon had 8 catches on 8 targets for 81 yards and was the lone bright spot in the Browns game. Dixon was hyped early in camp and was slowed down by injury, missing several practices. He showed up against Philly with a crucial 4^th down reception prior to the game-winning TD. Cameron Dorner had a great camp, and more people would have been talking about him if it wasn’t for the outstanding depth the WR room has now. Don’t be surprised if Dorner gets claimed on waivers. Who is that #23? Nick DeGennaro had a preseason game he will never forget. He made 4 catches on 5 targets for 61 yards and the game-winning 37-yard TD. I think that will get him onto the PS. Tejhuan Palmer is an interesting player, and he may make it to the PS.

C (1) Jared Wilson

Ben Brown (IR/DFR)

Cut: Jacob Rizy (PS), Joe Michalski

Van Roten serves as backup Center. Rizy, an UDFA, played well enough to earn a spot on the Practice Squad.

G (3) Mike Onwenu, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Greg Van Roten

Cut: Darrian Dalcourt, JonDarious Morgan, Jack Conley, Mekhi Butler

Jack Conley was not good versus Cleveland. Butler was a turnstile and gave up a 10-yard sack. None are good enough for the Practice Squad. They will have to find a veteran or a player from another organization for the PS.

T (5) Will Campbell, Morgan Moses, Caleb Lomu, Marcus Bryant, Dametrious Crownover

Cut: Lorenz Metz, James Hudson

I’m surprised that Hudson wasn’t cut after the Philly game. They switched him back to tackle, and he played reasonably well at Left Tackle against the Browns. Metz may make it to the PS again because he is an International Pathways Player and has a roster exemption.

Aug 13, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots offensive tackle Caleb Lomu (74) warms up with linebacker Gabe Jacas (50) before a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images — **(PHOTO: Eric Canha-Imagn Images)**

Defense 25

DE (2) Dre’Mont Jones, Gabe Jacas

Cut: Jesse Luketa, Xavier Holmes (both candidates for PS). Jacas has played so badly in the Preseason that if he was a mid-round draft pick, rather than a 2nd-round pick, he would have been cut. Jacas has zero football instincts. He repeatedly bites on the play-action fake handoffs, or he is blowing up the field and losing containment. Holmes has been hurt so it might be on some type of injury settlement / IR.

DT (5) Christian Barmore, Milton Williams, Joshua Farmer, Cory Durden, Leonard Taylor

Cut: Jeremiah Pharms, Eric Gregory, Isaiah Iton, and Casey Rogers (all possible PS candidates).

Eliot do you have DaQuan Jones on speed dial?

Don’t be surprised if there is a trade or waiver wire pickup at DT. I like Uah Bernard from the Eagles. He is raw, having never played in a football game before the start of Training Camp. He is a freak athlete, and I would put him out there on passing downs and just let him rip. They need a stout run defender like Khyris Tonga. It was revealed this week that the Patriots cheaped out in the Tonga negotiations last season and lost him because they wouldn’t pay another $350K.

ILB (5) Robert Spillane, Christian Elliss, K.J. Britt, Khalil Jacobs, Namdi Obiazor

Cut: Chad Muma, Riley Wilson

Muma has been a major disappointment, and I don’t think he gets signed to PS. They need depth at LB. Britt was awful against Cleveland. Don’t be surprised if they trade for or claim a Linebacker. Britt may be in trouble.

OLB (2) Elijah Ponder, Quintayvious Hutchins

(IR/DFR) Harold Landry

Hutchins has surprised me. I’ll admit I was down on using a draft pick to take Hutchins when I thought he would be a UDFA. He has made some special teams plays against Cleveland, which is what I think his role will be. Hutchins is a better pass rusher than Jacas at this point, and he started against Indy, with a big strip sack to seal the game Saturday.

Cut: Amari Gainer (PS)

CB (6) Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Marcus Jones, Kindle Vildor, Charles Woods, Kayron Prunty

Cut: Kobee Minor, Kenneth Harris, Marcellus Dial, Brandon Crossley, Channing Canada

Dial is the only other draft choice from the 2024 draft (Dell Pettus was a UDFA) still on the team besides Drake Maye. Woods and Vildor had very bad games against Cleveland, and either or both could be replaced by someone on waivers. Prunty makes the team because he was a draft pick and has looked very good as a gunner on Special Teams

SS (2) Dell Pettus, Jaylen Reed

Cut: Mike Brown, Peter Manuma (PS)

Brown takes stupid penalties as he did against Philly. He also lost his job as the personal Protector to Dell Pettus. Special Teams was supposed to be his specialty. I would keep Manuma on the PS. Reed started for the vaunted Houston Defense in both playoffs last season. He missed a lot of time with two stints on the IR that limited him to 7 regular-season games. Perhaps this was a better haul for Boutte than I originally thought. They also have Reed under team control for 3 years.

FS (3) Kevin Byard, Craig Woodson, John Saunders

Cut: Eric Butler

Saunders has been the surprise of camp. He had his team leading 5^th Interception of camp this week.

Special Teams 4

Brenden Schooler, Matt Haack, Andy Borregales, Julian Ashby

IR: Barringer

I think Barringer’s injury is more serious than we are being told. Haack was the star of the game, averaging 46.5 Yards Per Punt while putting two punts inside the 5- yard line and another inside the 20. The Patriots brought in a third punter, Jamie Gilliam, for a tryout. Don’t be surprised if they sign Gilliam to the PS.

Total Players: 53

Created with PatsPicker at PatsFans.com

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About Mark Morse

Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.

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