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