New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has a reputation for being brutally cutthroat when it comes to personnel decisions, but that isn’t the impression he gave when discussing Tuesday’s rapidly approaching roster cut deadline.
“Absolutely. Without a doubt,” the legendary coach responded, via NESN’s Zack Cox, when asked if the emotions from roster cutdown day weighed heavily on him.
There’s obviously the business side of things. Teams initially have 90 players on the roster, but they are only allowed to carry 53 players beyond a specific date.
That means 37 dreams are going to be crushed. Some will land on their feet and find opportunities elsewhere, and others will see their football journey—something they’ve spent their entire lives pursuing—come to a heartbreaking end.
And that heartbreak can be felt far beyond just that individual player, too, with coaches, teammates, family and friends.
“The actual process is very difficult for all of us — myself, certainly assistant coaches who have established a close relationship with their players and respect for their players because of their effort, work ethic and commitment that they make to the team,” said Belichick. “But ultimately, 37 of those 90 players can’t be with the team.
“It’s always difficult to talk to those players about the fact that they’ve done a lot, they’ve contributed a lot, they’ve worked hard, they’ve put a lot into it, but 37 of the 90 — or now 27 of the 90 with the roster being at 80 — are not going to be on the 53-man roster.”
The Patriots have until 4 p.m. ET to trim their roster down to 53 players.
While several other teams started making moves as early as Monday, things have been relatively quiet on the Patriots’ front with the deadline looming. That will obviously change as we get further into the day.
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