{"id":7705,"date":"2016-08-31T06:00:51","date_gmt":"2016-08-31T10:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=7705"},"modified":"2016-08-31T06:29:52","modified_gmt":"2016-08-31T10:29:52","slug":"roster-cut-75-patriots-focus-turns-giants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/08\/31\/roster-cut-75-patriots-focus-turns-giants\/","title":{"rendered":"With the Roster Cut to 75, Patriots Focus Turns to the Giants"},"content":{"rendered":"

No Surprise Cuts as Club Moves Lewis, Vollmer to PUP<\/h2>\n

The Patriots made their expected cuts to bring the roster to the league mandated 75-man limit on Tuesday and unlike the Terrance Knighton release, there were no surprises.<\/p>\n

Running back Dion Lewis who requires additional \u201cclean-up\u201d surgery on his knee and tackle Sebastian Vollmer were moved to the reserve\/PUP list meaning that neither can return before Week 6 but not after Week 11. With Vollmer\u2019s ailing hip issues, however, it is rumored that he won\u2019t play at all in 2016 and being a free agent next season, would probably mean an end to his Patriots playing days.<\/p>\n

The team also released reserve TE Steven Scheu, OL Keavon Milton, and LB Ramon Humber. None were expected to make the 53-man roster although Humber, with his STs experience, was thought to have an outside shot to stick there. But the recent addition of LB Barkevious Mingo\u00a0ultimately put an end to those hopes.<\/p>\n

The biggest and most difficult cuts come on Saturday when the team has to cut to their 53-man roster limit. The six-man practice squad can be announced the next day.<\/p>\n

LeBlanc Missing:<\/strong> There was also a number of players missing from practice yesterday due to injury. Among them, rookie CB Cre\u2019Von LeBlanc who is suffering from a hip ailment. LeBlanc\u2019s absence on cut-down day sparked a social media feeding frenzy with Patriots fans panicking that the young corner had been cut.<\/p>\n

With the limited window the media is allowed now at practice, after the stretching\/warm up period was over, WR Danny Amendola, G Jonathan Cooper, and G Tre\u2019 Jackson retreated to the lower practice fields with members of the training staff for conditioning work.<\/p>\n

The good news was that DEs Rob Ninkovich, Jabaal Sheard, and WR Malcolm Mitchell were staying with the rest of the team and taking part in positional drills. Mitchell was spotted wearing a large brace on his injured arm but his presence was definitely a positive sign that his return will be sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n

Gearing Up for the G-Men:<\/strong> Now with the final preseason game against the Giants upcoming, Bill Belichick and the staff will try to find the delicate balance between getting the starters some needed reps and giving the players on the bubble one more chance to show they belong.<\/p>\n

\"Photo-Bill-Belichick-JaJ0A-250x250\"Belichick smiled when asked if it will be a different experience facing a Giants team without Tom Coughlin across the sidelines, and cracked, \u201cTom probably misses us, he had a lot of success against us over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

But pressed on the issue if the fringe players would see the most playing time, he answered that \u201cany time you go out on the field, be it a game situation or a practice, it\u2019s an opportunity, and not just for the players but the coaches as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also took a thinly-veiled shot at the league when asked about Baltimore coach John Harbaugh\u2019s comments that preseason games should be cut back or eliminated and more joint practices held to prepare teams for the regular season. Belichick deadpanned, \u201cWell, I think we\u2019ll let all the experts in the league decide that. That\u2019s not really my job,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy job is to coach the team. But I think our joint practices give us extra opportunities to evaluate the team, so that\u2019s why we use them. I\u2019d say probably almost every team in the league does that.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Belichick remained mum on the team\u2019s plans on Thursday. Most expect Jacoby Brissett to possibly start and play the vast majority, if not all the snaps under center this week. He would gain some invaluable experience and go thru the motions of preparing to start his first NFL game. The coaches will have to weigh that or getting Jimmy Garoppolo some additional work.<\/p>\n

Two other players to watch on Thursday are WRs Aaron Dobson<\/strong> and Keshawn Martin<\/strong>. Dobson was rumored to be shopped around by the Patriots according to NFL.com\u2019s Albert Breer. The 4th<\/sup>-year wide receiver is locked into a struggle to make the roster and Mitchell\u2019s role would likely impact that.<\/p>\n

Martin, who was given a new contract this season with a good ($600K) signing bonus, may also find himself on the bubble. He missed a significant amount of time this summer, and now is trying to get some reps, find a comfort level again in the offense and secure a position on the roster.<\/p>\n

Asked in the locker room if he\u2019s feeling pressure, he said, \u201cI don\u2019t look at the pressure. I just want to go out and do my job and let my game speak for itself.\u201d To see more of his brief talk with the media see the clip.<\/p>\n