Bill Belichick’s mark on the Patriots is slowly fading away.
New England waived guard Cole Strange on Tuesday as the team trimmed its roster down to 53 for cut day.
As Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated noted, there is only one first-round pick — cornerback Christian Gonzalez — from the Belichick era that’s still on the Patriots’ roster.
Strange was a 2022 first-round pick out of Tennessee-Chattanooga when he projected by many to go in the third round.
He suited up and started in all 17 games in his rookie season — grading out at 54.6 on Pro Football Focus — but dealt with a knee injury in 2023 and played in just three contests, starting in two, in 2024.
This year’s third-round pick, Jared Wilson, overtook Strange for the starting left guard role before the latter was eventually cut on Tuesday.
Belichick, shortly after the ’22 draft, said the Patriots, who had traded down from the 21st pick to the 29th, that the team might have even taken Strange with the lower pick had they remained there.
“I’m glad Cole was there when we picked,” Belichick told reporters that April, according to the Boston Globe. “He wouldn’t have lasted much longer. His workout was pretty good. He’s an athletic guy with good size and some good tools to work with … I think he has a good combination of skills, run and pass.”
As new head coach Mike Vrabel looks to make the roster his own, the Patriots also cut two draft picks from this year’s class — fifth-round pick Bradyn Swinson and the last pick in the draft, Kobee Minor.