The 53-man roster decisions had New England Patriots fans feeling like the sky was falling, but on Wednesday, everyone was breathing a collective sigh of relief as the team’s true intentions were realized.
In other words, it was business as usual for the Bill Belichick-led team.
They’ve pieced together a better roster than they had last season, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t serious questions.
The offensive line has been shaky throughout training camp and the preseason, and there will always be questions with the receiving corps until the team actually succeeds with what they have or finally decides to take the plunge and add an elite No. 1 target.
But for right now, this is as good as it gets for the Patriots. Here are eight takeaways from the initial 53-man roster and practice squad.