Patriots Release 17, With Some Surprises

The New England Patriots final set of roster cuts have come through with only a couple of mild surprises. The biggest shakeout came at the receiver position where David Terrell was among those on the list.

BREAKING: Patriots Release 17, With Some Surprises
By Patriots Insider Staff

The New England Patriots roster cuts are in. PI has confirmed the list as follows:

Players By Position:

OFFENSE - (11)

• QB (0) - (no cuts)
  
  
• RB (2) - Kyle Eckel, Kory Chapman,
  
  
• WR (3) - Bam Childress, P.K. Sam, David Terrell
  
  
• TE (2) - Jed Weaver, Joel Jacobs
  
  
• OL (4) - Gene Mruczkowski, Jeff Roehl, Victor Leyva, Billy Yates
  

DEFENSE - (6)

• DL (2) - Rodney Bailey, Tom Sverchek
  
  
• LB (3) - Eric Alexander, Grant Steen, Andre Torrey
  
  
• CB (0) - (no cuts)
  
  
• S (1) - Ray Ventrone

SPECIAL TEAMS - (0)

• no cuts

Players receiving an injured / PUP exemption:

LB, Tedy Bruschi

Players on injured reserve (I/R)

LB, Ryan Claridge

The

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INSIDERS ANALYSIS

A quick look at the cuts raises questions at a couple of positions. The receiver battle was too close to call right down to the wire. The other mild surprise was that the team cut more offensive players than estimated in order to free up room for the defenders they liked on special teams.

Receivers: P.K. Sam vs David Terrell, Vs Andre Davis Vs Bethel Johnson turned out to be the toughest roster battle to predict. We originally thought Terrell would be kept over Bethel Johnson due to the aforementioned issues with durability, but Terrell turned out to be a bigger disappointment than thought. Rumors during the week had Terrell being cut, sometimes those rumors shouldn't be ignored.

Running Backs: We expect to see Chapman and or Eckel get an invite to the practice squad. If something happens to Dillon, this team will need a different back than the ones on the roster.

Tight End: It turns out keeping Weaver would have been wishful thinking. While his blocking ability was adequate, the preference of keeping a TE over a LB was not. Jacobs was not a surprise, and might find himself on the practices squad down the road.

Linebackers: We were right about Mallard impressing. From what he's been able to show during camp, and in the preseason, it has been enough to earn him a roster spot. The numbers game came down to keeping more LB's than we predicted, therefore the veterans were safe. Alexander is expected to get a practice squad invite, but may not get past waivers before another Belichick guy snaps him up. Possible landing spots Cleveland or Miami.

Offensive Line: Only mildly surprising was the release of Gene Mruczkuski. This was less of a versatility issue than a concern about the tackle position. Having another tackle on the roster turned out to be more important than another guard, and Kaczur is projected to possibly play either.

Defensive Line: We knew the staff liked what they saw in Mike Wright, the rookie out of Cincinnati, but the thought process was that he would be released and placed on the practice squad. Our concerns that he wouldn't clear waivers proved well founded, as the team obviously felt the same by granting him a spot. Bailey's release was a surprise, but the roster spots were limited, and with the retention of Wright, Bailey became expendable.

Safety: Ray Ventrone is a player worth keeping an eye on. Known for his hitting during his time at Villanova, Ventrone got caught in the roster squeeze with the other four safeties in the mix. He may be a good candidate for the practice squad.

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