The Patriots are exactly one week away from one of the most difficult times on the NFL calendar: roster cutdown day.
NFL teams must trim their rosters from 90 players down to 53 on Aug. 29 by 4 p.m. ET. The Patriots have two practices and one final preseason game Friday against the Tennessee Titans to make any final decisions.
Here’s our latest crack at a 53-man roster projection:
In — Malik Cunningham, Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe
Out — Trace McSorley
The Herald’s take: The Patriots and Packers ultimately made the right move to suspend Saturday night’s preseason game after rookie cornerback Isaiah Bolden was carted off of the field on a backboard, but if any player suffered for the decision, it was Cunningham, who’s still trying to earn a roster spot at quarterback, wide receiver and on special teams.
Cunningham was targeted five times but did not catch a pass. He did not enter the game at quarterback and didn’t receive many snaps under center during joint practices with the Packers. McSorley was in the same boat last week. It’s highly doubtful that McSorley would earn a roster spot at this point. He’s struggled this summer.
But Cunningham still has something to prove, and the Patriots canceled joint practices with the Titans this week. Cunningham seems pretty far away from being ready to contribute in his conversion to wide receiver. He’s an exciting playmaker at quarterback, however, and he could serve as a change of pace under center in certain situations. The biggest question is whether the Patriots risk losing him.
Jones is the Patriots’ starting quarterback. He played well Saturday night. Zappe is more than an adept backup, though he hasn’t had the strongest summer in training camp or the preseason through almost four weeks.
In — Ezekiel Elliott, Ty Montgomery, Rhamondre Stevenson, Pierre Strong
Out — Kevin Harris, C.J. Marable, J.J. Taylor
The Herald’s take: Montgomery hasn’t practiced since the first week of training camp, but the Patriots like him, and he can moonlight as a wide receiver if needed.
Taylor had some decent moments during Saturday night’s preseason game, but he’s entering his fourth season with the Patriots. There’s little risk of losing him on waivers during cutdowns, so he can continue to serve as depth from the practice squad.
Harris hasn’t had much room to run behind an ineffective offensive line through two games, but it seems unlikely that a team would claim him if he’s waived at roster cuts.
Stevenson and Elliott can lead the position group while Strong serves as depth and brings much-needed speed to the position. Montgomery can add insurance.
In — Kendrick Bourne, Kayshon Boutte, Demario Douglas, DeVante Parker, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton
Out — Tre Nixon, Thyrick Pitts, Raleigh Webb
The Herald’s take: Boutte has now done enough in the preseason and training camp to justify a roster spot. He’s a player worth continuing to work with. The LSU product isn’t the biggest or fastest receiver, but he simply makes plays like the catch-and-run off of a slant for a 42-yard touchdown from Zappe on Saturday night.
Douglas, Parker and Smith-Schuster are roster locks. Bourne is a lock barring any unforeseen trade. Thornton will probably keep a roster spot given his second-round pedigree, but the other wide receivers on this roster have done more to justify one this summer.
In — Mike Gesicki, Hunter Henry
Out — Anthony Firkser, Johnny Lumpkin, Matt Sokol, Scotty Washington
The Herald’s take: The Patriots could use more than two tight ends on the 53-man roster, but they’ll likely be able to pick between Firkser, Lumpkin, Sokol and Washington for practice squad spots.
Firkser would be useful to keep around if Gesicki isn’t healthy for Week 1 as he deals with a shoulder injury suffered in practice. Firkser doesn’t have Gesicki’s length or speed, but he’s another undersized tight end who can move around formations.
In — David Andrews, Jake Andrews, Trent Brown, Atonio Mafi, Mike Onwenu, Riley Reiff, Sidy Sow, Cole Strange
Out — James Ferentz, Chasen Hines, Conor McDermott, Bill Murray, Kody Russey, Andrew Stueber, Micah Vanterpool
NFI — Calvin Anderson
The Herald’s take: Anderson would be included in this group if he can return from the non-football illness list before the 2023 season. The Patriots could certainly use another offensive tackle in the mix.
Russey was pushing for a roster spot but suffered an unfortunate injury in Week 1 of the preseason and hasn’t practiced since.
McDermott also looked like he was going to make the roster early in the summer but got pushed down the depth chart after struggling against the Houston Texans. Then he got injured in joint practices with the Green Bay Packers and didn’t play Saturday night.
David Andrews, Jake Andrews, Brown, Mafi, Onwenu, Reiff, Sow and Strange all seem pretty safe. Jake Andrews has seen less work than fellow rookies Mafi and Sow up to this point, but he was their highest-drafted rookie offensive lineman this spring.
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: It was interesting to see Barmore and Godchaux start over Guy in Saturday night’s preseason game. Guy also got pushed around by rookie tight end Luke Musgrave on a long running play.
Guy returned for training camp after skipping mandatory minicamp and has been at practice every day. The Patriots would save cap space by cutting or trading him, but they could use the depth in their defensive line rotation more.
Pharms has had his moments this summer but looks primed for a spot on the practice squad. He got a special shoutout from Belichick during Monday morning’s video conference call.
In — Anfernee Jennings, Matt Judon, Josh Uche
Out — Ronnie Perkins, Carson Wells
The Herald’s take: Judon is possibly the Patriots’ best overall player. Jennings is a stout edge setter against the run on early downs, and Uche is a twitchy pass rusher who should pile up sacks again this season.
Perkins, a 2021 third-round pick, can’t stay on the field. Wells flashed a couple of times in Saturday night’s game, but he’s one of the team’s most recent signings. The ex-XFL defender is fighting for a practice squad spot.
In — Ja’Whaun Bentley, Marte Mapu, Jahlani Tavai, Mack Wilson
Out — Diego Fagot, Joe Giles-Harris, Calvin Munson
The Herald’s take: We came incredibly close to including Munson because he’s been a core special teamer and got inserted into the defensive rotation surprisingly early on Saturday. But when it comes down to it, the Patriots can probably bring him back on the practice squad and elevate him to start the season. Plus Bentley and Mapu didn’t play Saturday. So his reps might have been a bit deceiving.
Bentley, Mapu, Tavai and Wilson have all had strong summers.
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 a difficult omission. He showed promise this offseason before his unfortunate injury Saturday night. We didn’t have him making the 53-man roster in our last projection. He did make some impressive plays in joint practices against the Packers, but it wasn’t enough to get him on the squad over Bryant, Gonzalez, Jones, Jones, Jones and Speed.
Speed makes the cut because he has similar size and athleticism but appears more ready on special teams.
Jack Jones is still on the roster, and there’s been no word of a possible suspension as he faces felony gun charges.
Jonathan Jones and Marcus Jones are currently banged up and didn’t play in Saturday’s preseason game. That led to a lot of snaps for Gonzalez and Jack Jones through the first three quarters of action.
In — Kyle Dugger, Jalen Mills, Jabrill Peppers, Adrian Phillips
Out — Joshuah Bledsoe, Brad Hawkins
The Herald’s take: No major surprises here. There’s a world in which Bledsoe makes the team, but it would probably require injuries at other positions.
Bryant, Jonathan Jones, Marcus Jones, Ameer Speed and special-teamer Brenden Schooler can all play safety, so that’s where the Patriots can cull some additional depth.
The biggest question here is whether anyone can play Devin McCourty’s old free safety role. We simply haven’t seen it yet.
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: It’s a slight risk to hand over the special-teams reins to two rookies in Baringer and Ryland, but the Patriots knew what they were doing when they selected them in the 2023 NFL Draft. The team always has the option to use some of their 16 practice squad spots on specialists.
Board, Schooler and Slater are among the best special-teams players in the NFL.