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Patriots Cut 14 Players

August 26th, 2024 at 5:17pm CST by Ben Levine

The Patriots have started the process of reducing their roster to 53 players. The team announced that the following 14 players have been cut:

Released:

  • TE La’Michael Pettway

Waived:

With Sam Roberts off the team, the Patriots have now officially moved on from half of their 2022 draft class (and more subtractions, including QB Bailey Zappe, are surely coming). The former sixth-round pick struggled to carve out a role during his two seasons in New England, appearing in only 12 games. He did manage to appear in a career-high 100 defensive snaps this past season, but he was still limited to only five total tackles.

The team also moved on from defensive lineman Josiah Bronson, who joined the team a few days into camp. Despite Christian Barmore expected to be sidelined for the first chunk of the season, the veteran Bronson was unable to carve out a role. The 27-year-old will now look to revive his career elsewhere, but after being limited to only one game over the past two seasons, his opportunities may be running dry.

Kawaan Baker was facing an uphill battle to make the roster behind the likes of Tyquan Thornton, Kayshon Boutte, Jalen Reagor, Ja’Lynn Polk, and Javon Baker. The former Saints draft pick got into a pair of games as a rookie, contributing a single special teams tackle.

Patriots HC Jerod Mayo: Drake Maye Has ‘Outplayed’ Jacoby Brissett

August 26th, 2024 at 1:36pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Patriots concluded the 2024 preseason on Sunday night, with both Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye seeing time under center. As a final decision on the team’s Week 1 starting quarterback is contemplated, the rookie’s performance this summer has made this a closer call than it seemed to be at the start of training camp.

“This is a true competition, and I would say at this current point, Drake has outplayed Jacoby,” head coach Jerod Mayo said during a Monday appearance on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show (h/t ESPN’s Mike Reiss). “Now in saying that, we have to take in the full body of work, going all the way back to the spring and beginning of training camp… It starts in practice and also in the game, where Drake has played better.

“There are multiple factors that have to go into this decision. One is the total body of work, whether we’re talking about the spring or the entirety of training camp. And I would also say, oftentimes we forget about the overall experience that a guy like Jacoby has, which will also be weighted in the decision we have to make in the near future.”

Selected third overall April’s draft – after the Patriots turned down trade offers from the Giants and Vikings – Maye has long been known to be the team’s long-term plan at quarterback. The North Carolina product was one of the younger passers in his draft class, though, and his underwhelming play in 2023 led many to label him a candidate for a developmental rookie season. With Brissett in place on a one-year deal, redshirting Maye is certainly an option for Mayo and Co. Veteran reporter Josina Anderson notes the 31-year-old is viewed as the better option to begin the season by some in the Patriots’ organization.

To little surprise, Brissett entered training camp atop the depth chart. His summer performances have not impressed, however, and Mayo’s confirmation that Maye has outplayed him comes after the first-time head coach publicly left the door open to a change in the pecking order. With three preseason contests to evaluate (along with practice showings), the fact that Maye has made up ground adds further intrigue to this situation.

Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix have already earned the QB1 title for their respective teams. Maye could become the fourth rookie to see the field in Week 1, and a decision should be made in the coming days on whether he or Brissett will get the nod. A cautions approach would still not come as a surprise, but Mayo’s sentiment points to Maye having a strong chance to secure the starting gig right away.

Latest On Christian Barmore, Patriots’ DT Plans

August 25th, 2024 at 11:16am CST by Rory Parks

A frightening report from late last month noted that Patriots DT Christian Barmore was diagnosed with blood clots. At the time, it was too early to speculate on his NFL future, but we now have some additional information to pass along.

This year, up to two players that are placed on injured reserve on cutdown day can be activated during the season (previously, a player had to be on the 53-man roster on cutdown day and then placed on IR in order to be eligible for activation, which led to a significant amount of seemingly needless roster machinations). According to Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald, Barmore is one of New England’s top candidates to benefit from the new rule (safety Marte Mapu is the other player that Kyed names).

In other words, there is a chance that Barmore will play this season. As Kyed notes, the 25-year-old defender has not yet been placed on a season-ending reserve list, so the Pats are at least holding out hope for a 2024 return.

That would obviously represent a key development for the club’s defense. In his 2023 breakout, Barmore logged a 66% snap share and recorded career highs in sacks (8.5), total tackles (64), tackles for loss (13), quarterback hits (16), pass deflections (six), and forced fumbles (one). The advanced metrics supported that surface-level production, with Pro Football Focus ranking Barmore as the eighth-best interior defender in the NFL.

On the strength of that performance, the 2021 second-rounder became one of a number of Patriots to land an extension from the club’s new regime, inking a four-year deal worth up to $92MM in April. Clearly, New England saw Barmore’s 2023 effort as a sign of things to come and not a one-year blip.

While the Pats await Barmore’s return, they will turn to Daniel Ekuale as his primary replacement, as Kyed writes. While Ekuale has been utilized primarily on passing downs since coming to Foxborough in 2021, he has the size (6-3, 310) to operate as a three-technique defensive tackle.

Like Ekuale, the similarly-sized Trysten Hill has quietly had a strong camp, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. Nonetheless, Reiss expects the club to trawl the waiver wire for a run-stuffing DT – and additional offensive line help – when teams across the league make their final cutdowns this week (that is especially true since free agent pickup Armon Watts has failed to impress). New England has No. 3 waiver priority so should have an opportunity to claim some of the more intriguing cuts from rival clubs.

Patriots DT Davon Godchaux Addresses Extension Talks

August 23rd, 2024 at 11:18am CST by Adam La Rose

While the Patriots moved on from Matt Judon, the team was willing to commit to a new deal for defensive tackle Davon Godchaux. The latter’s public comments on his negotiation process provide further details on how his extension came to pass.

“I didn’t do anything in OTAs, I just worked out at the facility, and I went home,” the 29-year-old said during a recent episode of his Chaux Talk YouTube show (video link). “Training camp came and I remember having this conversation with [de facto GM] Eliot [Wolf]… He called me and was like, ‘Look, what’s going on? We want you to be out on the field practicing.’ I’m like, ‘Look, Eliot, I don’t have guarantees.'”

Godchaux made public his desire for a new Patriots deal, something a number of in-house players received during Wolf’s first offseason at the helm of the franchise. While the former fifth-rounder is not an impact pass rusher, his play against the run made him a candidate for another New England pact. While it took longer to work out than many of his teammates, an agreement was indeed reached at the end of July.

“Me and my agent ended up taking a whole other approach when it came to training camp,” Godchaux added. “I practiced in pads the first couple of days, and then about the third day in pads, I got paid. We were just like a million or two off.”

Indeed, non-participation in OTAs and minicamp was substituted by engaging in some activities during training camp. Godchaux’s comments confirm the parties were not far apart on contract terms, which explains how quickly his extension was hammered out. The LSU product secured a two-year pact featuring $16.65MM in guarantees, including locked in base salaries for the next two seasons. Godchaux is on the books through 2026.

Expectations will therefore be high for the former Dolphin, who has collected between 56 and 65 tackles in each of his three Patriots campaigns. Godchaux has served as a full-time starter in New England throughout his tenure with the team, and that will likely remain the case moving forward. His extension process illustrates the willingness shown by Wolf and Co. to keep several members of the previous regime’s core in place along with how close team and player were in this case to reaching agreement on a deal before training camp began.

OL Notes: Broncos, Wattenberg, Raiders, Cowboys, Beebe, Patriots, Giants, Neal

August 22nd, 2024 at 8:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

The center position sticks out on Denver’s offensive line. Four eight-figure-per-year contracts populate the Broncos‘ front, giving Bo Nix a solid batch of blockers as he begins his career. But the team did not bring in a starter-caliber player to replace Lloyd Cushenberry, who signed a big-ticket deal with the Titans. A matchup of recent Day 3 picks in training camp is close to being resolved. Luke Wattenberg has started Denver’s two preseason games, and the coaching staff views the 2022 fifth-rounder as having made great strides ahead of his third season. Wattenberg should be considered the favorite to start over 2023 seventh-rounder Alex Forsyth (despite the latter having been Nix’s 2022 center at Oregon), per the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson.

A Washington alum already going into his age-27 season, Wattenberg has two seasons left on his rookie contract. He has played 128 career snaps. This will be an adjustment for the Broncos, who used Cushenberry as a starter for four seasons. But Wattenberg’s fifth-round contract will mesh well on a line with Garett Bolles, Ben Powers, Mike McGlinchey and now Quinn Meinerz on pricey deals.

Here is the latest from the O-line ranks:

  • The Patriots will of course look into additions on the waiver wire, when hundreds of cut players will be available come Wednesday, but de facto GM Eliot Wolf said (via MassLive.com’s Karen Guregian) the team is content with its current mix up front. In addition to being without left guard Cole Strange, the Pats have not named their starting tackles. It appears to be trending toward 2023 late-August trade pickup Vederian Lowe at LT and street FA addition Chukwuma Okorafor at RT, the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed writes. Jerod Mayo both said he had wanted an O-line settled before the third preseason game and that Drake Maye‘s short outing in the preseason opener came from an uneasiness about the front five. This does not paint a picture of stability entering the season, which would make it rather interesting if Mayo and Wolf opted to open the year with Maye starting.
  • Cooper Beebe had been mentioned as a strong candidate to replace Tyler Biadasz as the Cowboys‘ center, but Brock Hoffman — a 2022 UDFA who started two games last season — had worked exclusively in that spot during most of training camp. Beebe, however, has received first-team work recently, Saad Youself of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Since that insertion, Beebe looks to be moving toward landing the gig. The third-round rookie appears the more likely starter, Yousef adds, with Hoffman — despite his weeks-long run with the first unit — seemingly ticketed for a backup role.
  • After a shoulder injury kept Jackson Powers-Johnson out of OTAs, and a concussion sustained at minicamp sidelined the second-round pick for months. Powers-Johnson only returned to Raiders practice recently. The team had hoped the Oregon center would win its LG job from the jump, but the time off will likely delay his start to the season. Antonio Pierce said (via The Athletic’s Tashan Reed) Powers-Johnson is unlikely for Week 1. Free agent signing Cody Whitehair has worked as Las Vegas’ starting LG and is poised to keep that role to open the season. The Bears demoted the longtime starter midway through last season, making his Raiders fit — with ex-Bears OC Luke Getsy calling the shots — interesting. But the 32-year-old blocker looks like a Week 1 starter.
  • Last year’s Raiders RG starter, Greg Van Roten is reprising his right-side tandem with Jermaine Eluemunor in New York. If Giants center John Michael Schmitz misses time, however, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan expects the recently added guard to slide to center. Free agent pickup Aaron Stinnie would replace Van Roten, 34, at guard in this scenario.
  • Duggan drops another concerning nugget about Evan Neal‘s status as well, indicating the displaced RT starter is not a lock to be active on gamedays due to only taking reps at right tackle since coming back from ankle surgery. Joshua Ezeudu, who has worked at both left and right tackle spots during camp, would be the Giants’ swing tackle if Neal’s transition from top-10 pick to healthy scratch actually happens.

Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers Making Progress On Deal; Ownership Involved

August 22nd, 2024 at 4:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

AUGUST 22: During a Thursday appearance on KNBR radio, Lynch noted the potential for CeeDee Lamb and Ja’Marr Chase to further alter the receiver market on Cowboys and Bengals extensions, respectively (h/t Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle). Each of those pacts will likely check in at a rate above $30MM per season, although Cincinnati appears to be willing to wait until 2025 in Chase’s case.

Further upward movement in the market would likely boost Aiyuk’s asking price, but meeting the 49ers’ goal of finalizing a pact would eliminate that possibility. With other big-ticket deals on the books (and another on the way in the form of Brock Purdy), Lynch confirmed the team’s other commitments is another factor complicating an Aiyuk deal. Efforts to keep him – not to mention Trent Williams – in the fold continue.

AUGUST 20: Brandon Aiyuk continues to drift farther away from the Steelers’ grasp. The would-be trade candidate went through another meeting with 49ers brass. The sides are making progress toward an extension, according to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz.

This endless saga has produced multiple consequential meetings — a midsummer summit Aiyuk requested and an early-August powwow that seemed to come after a Steelers extension offer did not meet the receiver’s expectations — and this Monday effort can perhaps be added here. Aiyuk’s hold-in persists, but positive signs are emerging for the 49ers.

[RELATED: John Lynch Aiming For Aiyuk To Stay On Long-Term Deal]

Although the 49ers have trade parameters in place with the Steelers, they are believed to have upped their offer from where it was around notable meeting No. 1 ($26-$27MM per year). The sides are believed to be in agreement on the major deal points, but Schultz adds the minor details are going up to the ownership level. The 49ers have managed to strike late-summer deals with George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Jimmy Garoppolo and Nick Bosa during the 2020s. While Bosa scored a defender-record contract, Aiyuk is driving a hard bargain in his own right. That led to the trade talks, though those have steadily dissipated.

It is worth wondering if the Bears’ recent D.J. Moore extension helped lock in a price point for the 49ers and Aiyuk. The Bears gave Moore a $27.5MM-per-year extension that included $82.6MM in total guarantees. While the former Panthers first-rounder has a longer track record of consistency, Aiyuk nearly topped Moore’s career-best receiving yardage total (1,364) on far fewer targets. Aiyuk, who is one year younger than Moore (at 26), reached 1,342 yards on just 105 targets. Moore is currently the NFL’s seventh-highest-paid receiver; it is difficult to envision this arduous Aiyuk process finalizing without the 49ers topping that.

Aiyuk’s efficient 2023 has prompted the 49ers wideout to seek terms near the top of the ballooning WR market. While Aiyuk has not been tied to an ask too close to Justin Jefferson‘s $35MM-per-year record number, he has sought an AAV around Amon-Ra St. Brown‘s $30.01MM mark and guarantees in A.J. Brown territory ($84MM).

The Steelers’ offer coming in below $28MM per year appears to have sent Aiyuk back to negotiating with the 49ers, who have reengaged in serious talks for several days now. Pittsburgh not including any veteran players in its proposal, thus not helping a 2024 49ers team aiming to complete its long-held championship pursuit under Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch, has hurt the AFC North team’s cause as well. But Aiyuk did not show much interest in joining the Patriots or Browns, leaving the Steelers as the alternative to a long-term 49ers future.

A league source recently expressed surprise (via veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson) that Aiyuk did not show interest in a Patriots offer believed to be worth up to $32MM per year and feature a strong Year 1 payout. The 49ers, however, feature a setup Aiyuk has proven he can thrive in, and the receiver appears to hold Mike Tomlin in high enough regard it is viewed as a drawing card for the fifth-year wideout. For now, an Aiyuk-to-Pittsburgh reality is losing steam fast — as the 49ers try to complete an extension they have been at work on for several months.

Patriots Plan To Name Starting QB After Preseason Finale

August 22nd, 2024 at 1:35pm CST by Adam La Rose

Three rookie quarterbacks – Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix – will start for their respective teams in Week 1. Michael Penix Jr. has Kirk Cousins ahead of him on the depth chart, while J.J. McCarthy‘s debut campaign will consist of rehabbing from meniscus surgery.

It remains to be seen what the Patriots will do with Drake Maye. The No. 3 pick in April’s draft was seen as more of a project than some of his classmates given his age (21) and the fact he only served as a starter for the past two seasons. With veteran Jacoby Brissett in place as a bridge starter, it came as no surprise Maye entered training camp No. 2 on the depth chart.

After the North Carolina product saw limited usage in New England’s first preseason game, it seemed the team’s plan to employ a patient development plan with him would continue. Maye’s playing time increased last week, though, and Brissett has struggled during training camp and his exhibition game reps. Head coach Jerod Mayo said last week the competition was not over, leaving the door open to Maye landing the Week 1 gig. No final call will be made until after the Patriots’ preseason finale.

“It’s still a competition, and Jacoby is still QB1,” Mayo said (via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe). “It’s a competition amongst all the guys on the field, including the quarterback spot. I would say by Monday night, we should know who the quarterback is.”

New England’s preseason will wrap up on Sunday, and both Brissett and Maye will see game time. The former, as Mayo confirmed, is still in place as the top option as things stand, but the latter has impressed with respect to his development so far. As Volin notes, the team’s offensive line and skill-position corps both remain a work in progress, factors which would lend themselves to using Brissett at the start of the year. That could still wind up being the case, but Mayo echoed his satisfaction with how far Maye has come so far.

“We always have to be flexible in regard to the plan,” Mayo added. “Right now, it’s all going the right way, the right direction. I would say his teammates can see that confidence growing as well. Hopefully, it’s just an upward trajectory from here.”

Patriots Release DT Mike Purcell

August 21st, 2024 at 9:22pm CST by Ely Allen

Veteran defensive tackle Mike Purcell‘s stay in New England was a short one. After signing with the Patriots only three weeks ago, Purcell’s tenure with the team came to an end today as New England announced his release.

Purcell began his NFL career as an undrafted free agent out of Wyoming, signing with the 49ers. While not appearing as a rookie and only playing two games in his sophomore campaign, Purcell earned a role in San Francisco, starting eight games over his final two years with the team.

Over the next two years he would shuffle around on different practice squads, eventually landing in the short-lived Alliance of American Football in 2019. Following his performance in the AAF, Purcell signed on with the Broncos. Originally a veteran, depth addition, Purcell ended up starting 37 games while appearing in 65 of a potential 67 contests.

His short reunion with the Patriots, who were one of the several teams who hosted him on their practice squad, was only slightly long than his first stint with the team. He was signed to help make up for the lost production of Christian Barmore as he dealt with his blood clots diagnosis. According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Purcell was running behind Davon Godchaux, Jeremiah Pharms, Daniel Ekuale, and Trysten Hill this preseason.

With Purcell off the roster, New England is more likely to test some of the youthful depth pieces on the roster like Armon Watts or Josiah Bronson. Purcell, on the other hand, will be back on the free agent market. At 32 years old, he may be running out of opportunities to remain in the NFL.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/20/24

August 20th, 2024 at 6:47pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

  • Reverted to IR: LB Zeke Vandenburgh

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Free Agent

Strong was a surprising release by the Cardinals during the regular season last year. At the time, Strong was coming off of his strongest NFL campaign, but head coach Jonathan Gannon claimed that the release was what was “best for the team.” While we still don’t know the nature of the suspension, or whether or not it’s even related to his January release, we are aware that he will miss three games.

Latest On Matt Judon’s Patriots Departure

August 20th, 2024 at 1:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

As the Patriots gave notable contracts to several in-house options this offseason, Matt Judon is now with the Falcons. That became New England’s solution to a simmering issue, with solid offers coming in from multiple teams.

After losing the Montez Sweat sweepstakes to the Bears at the deadline, the Falcons won out by sending a third-rounder to the Pats. Judon remains in a contract year and, unlike Haason Reddick, is not forcing the issue with his new team. No extension appears imminent. This is not the way, of course, Judon approached matters during his final weeks as a Patriot.

Judon’s situation, which involved a hold-in and a visible dustup with Patriots brass at practice, escalated after the Patriots extended Christian Barmore, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. This agreement (four years, $84MM) came to pass back in late April, leading into the Pats’ offseason program. It made Barmore the Pats’ highest-paid defender — by a significant margin. Although Judon received an adjustment last summer, he was still tied to a four-year, $54MM deal he had signed in 2021. The ex-Ravens draftee had outplayed that contract, but his age (32) and the biceps tear he sustained last season complicated his path to new terms.

The Pats were talking extension terms with both Barmore and Judon back in March, but conversations with the latter did not progress. Judon did not skip minicamp, but he staged a hold-in at training camp. New England’s camp then included a two-year, $18MM deal with DT Davon Godchaux, a player who had also angled for a new contract. The Patriots had submitted an offer by early July, and a subsequent report stated multiple proposals emerged. These were not believed to be true extension offers, and Judon disputed the report. Judon said he was not pursuing a top-market contract, citing his injury, but believed he was worth more than the $6.5MM in base salary — a number affected by the Pats moving money from 2024 to 2023 on his deal last summer — he was tied to in his contract year.

This lengthy chapter also included the dispute with Jerod Mayo and de facto GM Eliot Wolf. Judon argued with both Pats decision-makers before leaving a practice weeks ago, and although he soon returned, Breer indicates calls began coming in soon after. The Bears and Falcons offered third-round picks, and the Dolphins and Texans were in on the pursuit as well. Judon now joins Justin Simmons as 30-something Falcons defenders aiming to improve their respective markets ahead of the 2025 free agency period.

As for the Patriots, this trade will challenge their ability to pressure quarterbacks. Barmore remains on New England’s NFI list due to blood clots. If the team’s 2023 sack leader is moved to the reserve/NFI list in the coming days, he must miss at least four games. While the Pats have the recently re-signed Josh Uche and 2023 second-rounder Keion White on the edge, Judon combined for 28 sacks between the 2021 and ’22 seasons.

After Judon saw so many Patriots receive extensions this offseason, the situation became untenable. The Pats did well to collect a third-rounder, though, and how Judon bounces back will help determine who prevails in the NFC South.

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