Patriots 53-man roster projections

Predicting 24 Patriots who will be cut before Tuesday’s deadline

Who will be out in New England in the final round of roster cuts?

In less than 24 hours, the New England Patriots will make a slew of player cuts to decide their 53-man roster heading into the 2023 season.

There’s always a surprise thrown in somewhere when it comes to coach Bill Belichick and roster cuts, and part of the fun is trying to figure out what that will be.

Will the Patriots keep rookie quarterback Malik Cunningham on the roster? Is the kicking competition between Nick Folk and rookie Chad Ryland so tight that they’d actually consider carrying both kickers?

There are so many questions facing the team ahead of Tuesday. The Patriots are 24 roster cuts away from being within compliance of the 53-man deadline, which is slated for 4 p.m. ET.

Here are 24 players that probably won’t be on the roster by the deadline.

43 players are locks for Patriots’ 53-man roster after preseason finale

Who are the roster locks for the Patriots after Friday’s preseason finale?

The New England Patriots closed out the 2023 preseason with an ugly 23-7 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Friday.

Now, it’s time for coach Bill Belichick to begin the arduous task of cutting the roster down to 53 players before the Aug. 29 deadline next Tuesday.

Throughout training camp and the preseason, the players have battled for an opportunity to cement their spot on the roster. Some came in as long-shot hopefuls, while others have been considered roster locks since the very beginning.

We’re taking a look at the latter in the aftermath of Friday’s preseason finale. These are the players that have shown enough to guarantee their spots on the team.

Here are the 43 players that should be considered locks to make the Patriots’ 53-man roster.

New England Patriots 53-man roster projection 2.0

Patriots updated 53-man roster projection in Week 2 of the preseason,

Following back-to-back joint practices, the New England Patriots step onto the iconic Lambeau Field for a head-to-head preseason showdown with the Green Bay Packers

This will be another opportunity for players to prove they deserve a spot on the 53-man roster. With 90 players battling, there have been constant changes to the list each week.

The Patriots have also signed new players that will have an opportunity to work their way onto the main roster as well. Let’s dive right into my 53-man roster projection for the Patriots if the preseason and training camp ended today.

Updated Patriots 53-man roster projections

After one full week of training camp, here are some early roster projections for the Patriots.

The first full week of New England Patriots training camp is in the rearview, and the team is on the cusp of their first real game against the Houston Texans in the August 10 preseason opener.

When making personnel decisions, there is a lot of context that goes into the 53-man roster, most importantly the waiver system. Teams will cut players who might be better now, as opposed to a young player with upside, because there is a chance that young player will not make it through waivers.

The Patriots will typically cut players, tell them to wait around and sign them to the practice squad the following day. They value the depth and the player, while maintaining leverage.

They know that player has a better shot at making it through waivers than someone a desperate team might want to claim. I’ll try to give some context into the decisions as we roll through this 53-man roster projection.

Key: PS = Practice Squad