The Patriots adjusted wide receiver Phillip Dorsett‘s contract in order to open up some cap space. Dorsett was supposed to collect a $450K roster bonus on the fifth day of training camp, but that was slashed to $150K, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. However, he can collect on the full $450 by achieving $100K in added per-game roster bonuses and $150K in reception incentives. 
It’s not clear how many receptions Dorsett will need in order to achieve that $150K bonus, but it may be challenging at any level. Currently, Dorsett profiles as the Patriots’ fifth wide receiver, behind Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, Kenny Britt, and Jordan Matthews. Cordarrelle Patterson is also in the mix and the Pats may use him as a wideout in addition to being a return specialist. And, of course, there’s no guarantee that Dorsett makes the roster with special teams ace Matt Slater, Malcolm Mitchell, and Braxton Berrios also under contract.
Dorsett is entering the final year of his deal with the Pats. His $1.1MM base salary is not guaranteed, so the Pats can cut him between now and September without penalty. The Pats could have extended his option through 2019 through the fifth-year option, but it was a no-brainer to decline given his lack of production thus far in the NFL.
Dorsett played sparingly in his first season with the Patriots and totaled just 194 receiving yards. His best season to date came in 2016 when he had 33 catches and 528 yards with two touchdowns for the Colts. Needless to say, the Colts were expecting more of him when taking him in the first round of the 2015 draft.
“Dorsett played sparingly in his first season with the Patriots…”
Dorsett played in 15 games and 33% of the Patriots total offensive snaps in 2017, just 2% shy of Dion Lewis, who played in all 16 games and the same percentage as James White, who played in 14 games.
Dorsett was also on the field for 54% of the team’s offensive plays in his last 7 games of the season.
I guess “sparingly” has different meanings to different people.