Tag: Patriots 53-man roster

8 takeaways from Patriots’ initial 53-man roster and practice squad

Here are eight takeaways from the 2023 Patriots’ 53-man roster and practice squad.

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.

New England Patriots’ 2023 practice squad tracker

Live updates for 2023 Patriots practice squad signings.

After rocking the boat with the initial 53-man roster announcement, the New England Patriots will try to stick the landing with the practice squad reveal on Wednesday.

Keep in mind, NFL teams can hold up to 16 players on a practice squad. So many of the players cut could be brought back if they clear waivers.

The deadline for waiver claims is at 12 p.m. ET on Wednesday, and the 16-man practice squad can be formed at 1 p.m. ET. That means it’ll be a quick turnaround for the Patriots with more roster additions.

Check back here for live updates as we list every practice squad move made by the Patriots.

Every NFL team’s most surprising roster cut (or trade)

Highlighting the most shocking roster cut (or trade) for each NFL team.

With the preseason in the books, every NFL team has now trimmed their roster to the league-mandated 53 players. While these rosters will certainly undergo changes over the next couple of days, each team has their initial 53-man roster set.

But when going from 90 to 53 players, there are some tough calls NFL general managers have to make in the process. And there were certainly some shocking moves across the league during the final roster cuts, which should make for some interesting moves on the waiver wire.

We’ve rounded up our NFL Wires editors to highlight the most surprising roster cut from every NFL team.

New England Patriots announce initial 53-man roster

Here’s the initial 53-man roster for the 2023 Patriots.

The official 53-man roster for the 2023 New England Patriots is now set.

It took quite a bit of last-minute tinkering from coach Bill Belichick to get the roster in line by the 4 p.m. ET deadline on Tuesday.

One of those moves included trading veteran kicker Nick Folk to the Tennessee Titans for a 2025 seventh-round draft. But the biggest surprise came later in the day, when it was reported that the team had cut their remaining backup quarterbacks, Bailey Zappe and Malik Cunningham.

None of the decisions made could have been easy for Belichick with all of the tough training camp battles that ensued over the last few weeks. Let’s take a look at every player that made the initial 53-man roster.

Patriots reportedly looking hard at adding to these three positions

The Patriots are reportedly looking to address at least three trouble positions.

The New England Patriots are looking to fill holes as the preseason concludes, and three positions in particular have caught their interest, per Boston Sports Journal’s Greg A. Bedard.

“The Patriots are not done patching the holes on offense,” Bedard wrote, via NESN’s Dakota Randall. “What else are they looking for? … According to league sources, the Patriots are looking hard at: tight end, nose tackle, receiver.

“The Patriots need another experienced and real option behind Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki. One name to keep an eye on, due to a coaching change: Tommy Tremble, a third-round pick of the Panthers in 2021. He would automatically be the best blocker at TE, and he’s solid in the other areas. He seems to be on the way out.”

Depth behind Henry and Gesicki makes sense for the Patriots, especially when considering offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien’s tendency to lean on the tight ends within his offensive game-planning.

Nose tackle is certainly a position of intrigue as well with the Patriots looking to beef up their defensive front. They tried to do so last week by claiming Marquan McCall on waivers, but that signing fell through due to a failed physical.

Depth at receiver would be a bonus. The Patriots have had at least two young wide receivers in rookie sixth-round draft pick Kayshon Boutte and Demario Douglas emerge as potential options. But they could still use another veteran option on the roster, especially with second-year wideout Tyquan Thornton working his way back from an injury.

It’s clear New England still has work to do at several positions that goes beyond the business of simply cutting down their own roster.

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Patriots’ 53-man roster projection after mandatory minicamp

With less than a month away from training camp, here’s a 53-man roster projection for the Patriots

Training camp is shaping up to be an interesting one for a New England Patriots team with multiple rookies capable of stepping up and competing right away in the 2023 season.

That’s obviously a good problem to have for a football team, but it’s also going to force the Patriots to make some tough decisions when whittling their roster down to 53 players.

It could ultimately put some noteworthy veteran players on the bubble as potential roster cuts. There’s also the possibility for future signings, especially with elite players like DeAndre Hopkins and Dalvin Cook still out their on the free agent market.

But we aren’t here to kick the tires of future potential blockbuster signings. The same goes with the current legal situation involving Jack Jones. Today, we’re breaking down the roster as currently constructed without taking outside circumstances into account. There are far too many unknowns to start going down those rabbit holes.

Here’s a 53-man roster projection for the Patriots after mandatory minicamp:

Building the Patriots’ all-time 53-man roster

Who made the Patriots’ all-time 53-man roster?

The New England Patriots were founded in 1960, but they didn’t really start seeing the major success as an organization until—well, we all know the man who changed that for us, Tom Brady.

If the Patriots were able to field a 53-man roster with all-time Patriots in their prime, who would that roster consist of? Before we even get into that, players would need to have been in New England for two or more seasons to be considered eligible.

We don’t want one-off camp tryouts or last-ditch efforts by veterans because that would simply make an elite roster. Guys like Chad Johnson, Antonio Brown and others would be fun, but that wouldn’t be fair to those who played meaningful seasons for the Patriots.

Just imagine this 53-man all-time Patriots roster taking the field: