The New England Patriots have released 9 players, according to The Boston Globe‘s Jim McBride. As per the new COVID regulations, teams needed to drop from 90 to 80 players on their offseason rosters. According to McBride’s report, the 10 players removed from the roster are J’Mar Smith, Brian Lewerke, Isaiah Zuber, Sean Riley, Will Hastings, Kyahva Tezino, Courtney Wallace, Adarius Pickett, and Malik Gant.
New England Patriots Release J’Mar Smith, 8 Others
The most notable name of the early cuts is quarterback J’Mar Smith. Smith, an undrafted free agent out of Louisiana Tech, possesses a decent athletic profile and a strong arm. However, he has a long way to go in terms of actually learning the position, and the Patriots clearly didn’t like his odds of figuring it out in a shortened offseason. The team also released quarterback Brian Lewerke, a Michigan State product with a few good plays sandwiched between a whole lot of bad.
The Patriots are weak at wide reciever, but the organization clearly doesn’t believe that Isaiah Zuber, Sean Riley, or Will Hastings are the answer. Hastings actually spent a portion of his college career and could have had a decent shot at the roster if Jarrett Stidham were the starting quarterback. However, with Cam Newton in town, there was no reason to carry Hastings on the 80-man roster.
Malik Gant is one of the more interesting cuts on this list, as the 2019 undrafted free agent actually looked good in the preseason last year. However, New England’s secondary is one of the best in the league, and Gant was facing an uphill battle to make the team. Releasing him now gives Gant a better chance of securing a role with another team.
New rules allow teams to carry 15 players on the practice squad, so there is a chance that some of these players return to the organization later in the season.
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