The Patriots need to decide if they want to keep an “electric” third-string quarterback/developmental wide receiver or risk losing him on waivers.
The Patriots are three weeks into training camp and just over three weeks from their Week 1 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. Before they start the season, head coach Bill Belichick has difficult roster decisions to make when the Patriots are forced to trim their roster from 90 players all the way down to 53 by Aug. 29.
One of those key decisions will be whether or not to hold onto Malik Cunningham, who’s officially listed on the roster as a quarterback but has spent most of training camp at wide receiver.
Here’s who makes the cut in our latest 53-man roster projection.
In — Malik Cunningham, Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe
Out — Trace McSorley
The Herald’s take: Cunningham probably hasn’t done quite enough just yet to justify a roster spot, so his inclusion is a bit of a projection that he’ll take another positive step forward in joint practices and the Patriots’ remaining preseason games. He was the best thing that happened to the Patriots’ offense in Thursday’s preseason opener, however, as he added a jolt of excitement at quarterback late in the fourth quarter. Cunningham, a college quarterback, can’t be reasonably counted on as a wide receiver at this point in his positional conversion. While Cunningham has spent most of OTAs, minicamp and training camp at wide receiver, he’s seen increased reps at quarterback in the past week.
McSorley has struggled mightily in training camp and didn’t assert himself well with a 1-of-3 performance in the Patriots’ first preseason game against the Houston Texans. So, if the Patriots want to keep a third quarterback, then Cunningham is definitely the option with higher upside.
Zappe hasn’t made a significant push to make it a competition for the starting job with Jones this summer. Jones continues to take the great majority of first-team reps in practice, and players talk about him like he’s QB1. You could do a lot worse than Zappe, who won two games as a rookie starter last season, as a backup, however.
In — Ezekiel Elliott, Ty Montgomery, Rhamondre Stevenson, Pierre Strong
Out — Kevin Harris, C.J. Marable, J.J. Taylor
The Herald’s take: There was a major shift at running back this week when the Patriots signed Elliott as a veteran free agent. The three-time Pro Bowl selection adds valuable depth and dependability to work along with Stevenson in the Patriots’ backfield. The Patriots really haven’t had a running back combination like Elliott and Stevenson in the Bill Belichick era. Both are bigger three-down backs. The Patriots typically like to feature a bigger early-down back and a smaller third-down pass catcher. This system should work too, however, since both runners can hammer between the tackles, catch out of the backfield and work as blockers in the passing game
There was a thought of keeping just three running backs because Montgomery has been hurt since the first week of training camp, and Harris, Marable and Taylor haven’t done anything to justify a roster spot to this point. But the Patriots typically like to keep at least four running backs, and Montgomery could help out at wide receiver in a pinch.
There shouldn’t be too much difficultly getting Harris, Marable and Taylor through waivers for additional depth on the practice squad.
In — Kendrick Bourne, Demario Douglas, DeVante Parker, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton
Out — Kayshon Boutte, Tre Nixon, Thyrick Pitts, Raleigh Webb
The Herald’s take: Boutte has had impressive moments in training camp, but like Cunningham, we’d like to see a positive step taken in one of the Patriots’ preseason games for him to earn a roster spot. After showing up in practice this summer, Boutte did disappear a bit in Thursday’s preseason contest.
Webb is a dark horse to earn a spot on special teams and to serve as depth at wide receiver. He had issues catching the ball this spring and early in training camp but has shown improvement.
Thornton has fallen down the depth chart since training camp opened in late July, but he’s still earned a spot even ignoring his second-round pedigree. He’s caught just one pass from Jones in competitive drills this camp but has made enough plays on the second team with Zappe. He also made the best catch of Thursday’s preseason game.
Douglas, like Boutte a sixth-round pick, appears to be a roster lock based on his practice usage and lack of playing time in Week 1 of the preseason, when he took just two snaps before joining starters on the sideline.
In — Mike Gesicki, Hunter Henry
Out — Anthony Firkser, Johnny Lumpkin, Matt Sokol, Scotty Washington
The Herald’s take: The Patriots might need to keep a second tight end after Gesicki went down with an injury Monday in practice. The undersized tight end/big receiver suffered a mild shoulder sprain, per NFL Media, during a 1-on-1 live tackling drill when linebacker Jahlani Tavai brought him down on a clean play. Gesicki looked in significant pain, and head trainer Jim Whalen walked him off the field with his hand under the tight end’s shoulder pads. There’s hope that Gesicki will be back by Week 1, but “nothing is given,” per NFL Media.
The issue here is that Firkser, Lumpkin, Sokol and Washington haven’t done enough in training camp to justify a spot on the 53-man roster. The Patriots can almost certainly slip Lumpkin, Sokol and Washington through waivers on the practice squad. Firkser would not need to clear waivers to be cut and brought back.
There are two more weeks of joint practices and two preseason games for Firkser, Lumpkin, Sokol or Washington to prove they deserve to be kept on the roster, but at this point, the Patriots are better off just keeping Henry and Gesicki and stashing their tight end depth on the scout team. NFL teams can activate players from the practice squad for gameday.
In — David Andrews, Jake Andrews, Trent Brown, Atonio Mafi, Mike Onwenu, Riley Reiff, Kody Russey, Sidy Sow, Cole Strange
Out — James Ferentz, Chasen Hines, Conor McDermott, Bill Murray, Andrew Stueber, Micah Vanterpool
NFI — Calvin Anderson
The Herald’s take: It’s difficult to know what’s going on with Anderson, who only appears in street clothes for practice while on the non-football illness list. The Patriots are three weeks through training camp, and he has yet to participate. So, until we see otherwise, it seems safest to keep him on the NFI list, where he’d miss at least four games, to start the season.
There seems to be a lack of certainty that Onwenu, who remains on the PUP list, will be ready to start the season. It’s worth activating him before Week 1 to make sure the Patriots don’t lose him for four weeks.
The Patriots’ current starting line in practice with Onwenu on PUP, Anderson on NFI, and Russey and Strange dealing with injuries, is Brown at left tackle, Mafi at left guard, David Andrews at center, Reiff at right guard and Sow at right tackle. Previously, when Russey was healthy, he was at right guard and Reiff was at right tackle. So, that’s an indication that Sow is currently the top reserve tackle, and Mafi and Russey are currently the top reserve guards. McDermott has fallen down the depth chart.
Jake Andrews hasn’t earned a roster spot based on what he’s shown in training camp, but he was a fourth-round pick as the Patriots’ top-drafted offensive lineman this spring, and it would be difficult to see the team give up on him this quickly.
In — Christian Barmore, Carl Davis, Daniel Ekuale, Davon Godchaux, Lawrence Guy, Keion White, Deatrich Wise
Out — Jeremiah Pharms Jr., Sam Roberts, Justus Tavai
PUP — Trey Flowers
The Herald’s take: No major surprises here other than the veteran, Davis, making the cut and Roberts, a 2022 sixth-round pick, being left off. White, a second-round pick, is a similar body type and takes Roberts’ spot.
The Patriots have great veteran depth along their defensive line with Davis, Ekuale, Godchaux and Guy all capable of taking up space in the running game. Barmore has upside as a pass-rusher, Wise is a dependable defensive end, and White is the wild card who could push the Patriots’ defensive line disruption to another level this season. The rookie is 6-foot-5, 290 pounds and can stand up on the edge as an outside linebacker or kick inside for some interior penetration.
Flowers remains on the PUP list and has yet to don a uniform in practice. Until we know more about his status and what he looks like on the field, it’s safest to keep him on the PUP list for now.
In — Anfernee Jennings, Matt Judon, Josh Uche
Out — Ronnie Perkins
The Herald’s take: Perkins has been a disappointment as a 2021 third-round pick. He has yet to take a snap during the regular season and is injured once again this summer.
Jennings is solid as a rock setting the edge against the run. Uche is a lightning bolt off the edge, and Judon might be the Patriots’ best overall player. White and Wise also work off the edge.
In — Ja’Whaun Bentley, Marte Mapu, Jahlani Tavai, Mack Wilson
Out — Diego Fagot, Joe Giles-Harris, Calvin Munson, Carson Wells
The Herald’s take: Based on special-teams training camp reps, Munson might earn some early playing time for the Patriots whether that’s with a 53-man roster spot or as a practice squad call-up.
The Patriots have additional linebacker depth in special-teamer Chris Board. And the team likes to use safeties Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips and Jabrill Peppers inside the box, though they’ll have additional responsibilities at free safety with Devin McCourty’s retirement.
Bentley, Tavai and Wilson can all start. Mapu has shown a ton of versatility in practice but is still wearing a red non-contact jersey. Teammates continue to rave about his abilities.
In — Myles Bryant, Christian Gonzalez, Jack Jones, Jonathan Jones, Marcus Jones, Ameer Speed
Out — Isaiah Bolden, Quandre Mosely, Rodney Randle, Shaun Wade
The Herald’s take: Bolden was perhaps the toughest cut on this entire 53-man roster projection, but someone had to go, and he was the Patriots’ final pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He’s shown potential in coverage but has also gotten picked on at times. He has a tremendous size and speed combination, but so does Speed. Speed, a sixth-round pick, appears to have better upside on special teams.
Jack Jones’ status bears monitoring after he was arrested on gun charges at Logan Airport in June. The Patriots’ cornerback depth is a wobby Jenga tower if Jack Jones isn’t available to play. That would thrust either Jonathan Jones or Marcus Jones into an outside cornerback role, or the team would have to move Jalen Mills back from safety to cornerback. The Patriots could also keep Wade on the roster. The third-year pro has been a playmaker on the second-team defense.
Gonzalez appears to be a Day 1 starter. Jonathan Jones is best utilized in the slot if Jack Jones can play outside. The Patriots seem to like Marcus Jones more outside than in the slot, but his 5-foot-8 stature is an impediment against bigger receivers. He could reasonably be taking on a wide receiver eight or nine inches taller. At the same time, he’s had difficulty covering Douglas out of the slot this summer.
In — Kyle Dugger, Jalen Mills, Jabrill Peppers, Adrian Phillips
Out — Joshuah Bledsoe, Brad Hawkins
The Herald’s take: The Patriots can cull additional safety depth from the cornerback position. Bryant has been a regular at free safety this summer. Jonathan Jones and Marcus Jones have the ability play safety. And the Patriots have experimented with Speed back deep.
Wade also played free safety in the Patriots’ preseason opener. Bledsoe is a solid option in the slot or in the box. He’s just currently buried behind Dugger, Mills, Peppers, Phillips and Bryant.
In — P Bryce Baringer, ST Chris Board, LS Joe Cardona, K Chad Ryland, ST Brenden Schooler, ST Matthew Slater
Out — K Nick Folk, P Corliss Waitman
PUP — ST Cody Davis
The Herald’s take: That’s three core special-teamers in Board, Schooler and Slater. Plus Speed looks like he’ll start his NFL career as a key contributor in the kicking game.
It makes the most sense to keep the rookies — Baringer and Ryland — over veterans Folk and Waitman in the specialist roles. With 16 practice squad spots, perhaps Folk and Waitman could be convinced to stick around New England.
Davis remains on the PUP list after his 2022 season ended premature with a knee injury. Until we see signs of him coming back, we’ll keep him on the PUP list to start the year.
The Patriots waived long snapper Tucker Addington and special-teamer DaMarcus Mitchell on Tuesday.