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53-man roster

New England Patriots 53-man Roster Projection, version 3.0

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Torn on the 53rd guy. Here are the candidates: SS Tavon Wilson, DT Casey Walker, DL Zach Moore, WR Chris Harper. Still leaning Wilson by a hair over Walker.

QB (2) T.Brady, J.Garoppolo
RB (5) B.Bolden, J.White, D.Lewis, J.Gray, T.Cadet
WR (6) J.Edelman, B.LaFell, D.Amendola, R.Wayne, A.Dobson, M.Slater
TE (3) R.Gronkowski, S.Chandler, M.Hoomanawanui
C  (2) B.Stork, J.Kline
G  (3) S.Mason, T.Jackson, R.Wendell
T  (4) M.Cannon, N.Solder, S.Vollmer, C.Fleming
DE (5) R.Ninkovich, J.Sheard, C.Jones, T.Flowers, G.Grissom
DT (4) M.Brown, D.Easley, A.Branch, S.Siliga
ILB(3) J.Mayo, J.Freeny, J.Morris
OLB(2) J.Collins, D.Hightower
CB (5) M.Butler, T.Brown, L.Ryan, B.Fletcher, R.McClain
SS (3) P.Chung, J.Richards, N.Ebner
FS (2) D.McCourty, D.Harmon
ST (3) S.Gostkowski, R.Allen, J.Cardona

PUP: Dane Fletcher, Chris Jones

SUSP Wk 1: LeGarrette Blount

Total players: 52
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Updated New England Patriots Depth Chart & 53-Man Roster Prediction

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Quite a bit of shifting going on yesterday, with the addition of Reggie Wayne and DJ Lynch, and both Brandon Gibson and Brian Tyms heading to IR. Here’s how I think the current depth chart looks.

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And here’s where I’m at on my 53-man roster. Some hard decisions to make especially among the unproven depth guys.

QB (2) T.Brady, J.Garoppolo: Still believe Brady doesn’t miss a game.

RB (5) J.Gray, B.Bolden, J.White, T.Cadet, J.Develin: Loved what I saw out of Lewis but I can’t keep 7 RBs and I don’t see any of this group getting cut without it being a shock. Blount has roster exemption for Week One.

WR (6) J.Edelman, B.LaFell, D.Amendola, R.Wayne, A.Dobson, M.Slater: Neither Wayne nor Dobson play special teams, so that difference will have to be made up at linebacker/defensive back.

TE (3) R.Gronkowski, S.Chandler, M.Hoomanawanui: Would love Chandler to get healthy this week to get some legit game action with Brady.

OL (9) B.Stork, T.Jackson, S.Mason, R.Wendell, J.Kline, M.Cannon, N.Solder, S.Vollmer, C.Fleming: Wouldn’t be surprised to see Kline start getting some legit guard snaps, especially if Wendell continues on PUP. Andrews is a good practice squad candidate.

DE (5) R.Ninkovich, C.Jones, J.Sheard, T.Flowers, G.Grissom: very promising group with experience, youth and tons of potential.

DT (5) D.Easley, M.Brown, S.Siliga, A.Branch, Z.Moore: Hard cuts on Antonio Johnson and Casey Walker. Leaning Zack Moore as the last guy here, but Johnson/Walker could beat him out.

LB(5) J.Mayo, J.Freeny, J.Collins, D.Hightower, D.Fleming: James Morris a tough cut, but could be a PS guy. Plus Fletcher is PUP’d so there’s some depth  insurance there.

CB (4) M.Butler, T.Brown, M.McClain, L.Ryan: Roberts injury hurts, still not feeling Bradley Fletcher even with the numbers thinned.

S (6) P.Chung, J.Richards, N.Ebner, D.McCourty, T.Wilson, D.Harmon:  Need more special teams so Tavon is in.

ST (3) S.Gostkowski, R.Allen, J.Cardona: All good.

PUP: Chris Jones, Dane Fletcher

Total players: 53
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Patriots 53-Man Roster: Preseason Week 2 Edition

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Some movement this week on the 53-man roster after getting a closer look at some guys against the Packers.

QB (2) T.Brady, J.Garoppolo 

RB (5) B.Bolden, T.Cadet, J.White, J.Gray, J.Develin (Blount SUSP Week 1)

WR (6) J.Edelman, B.LaFell, D.Amendola, B.Gibson, B.Tyms, M.Slater – Gibson in, Dobson out.

TE (3) R.Gronkowski, S.Chandler, M.Hoomanawanui

C  (2) B.Stork, D.Andrews – added Andrews after he looked okay in action at guard. Groom for interior swing role. 

G  (3) T.Jackson, S.Mason, R.Wendell – Can Wendell play LG is the biggest question.

T  (4) M.Cannon, N.Solder, S.Vollmer, C.Fleming

DE (5) R.Ninkovich, C.Jones, J.Sheard, T.Flowers, G.Grissom 

DT (4) S.Siliga, M.Brown, A.Johnson, D.Easley – Johnson vs. Branch is the key battle down the stretch. Branch not doing himself any favors early in camp. Might cut him just to avoid guaranteeing his salary.  Casey Walker in that mix now as well.

ILB(3) J.Mayo, J.Freeny, J.Morris – Freeny played a lot but wasn’t great on defense. His role will be mostly special teams. Morris the 53rd man.

OLB(3) J.Collins, D.Hightower, D.Fleming – Fleming one to watch this week if he gets on the field.

CB (5) M.Butler, T.Brown, R. McClain, L.Ryan, D.Roberts – Roberts over Fletcher.

SS (3) P.Chung, J.Richards, N.Ebner – Wilson out.

FS (2) D.McCourty, D.Harmon

ST (3) S.Gostkowski, R.Allen, J.Cardona

PUP in season (unavail until Week 6) – Chris Jones, Dane Fletcher

Priority Practice Squad: Rufus Johnson, Zach Moore, Eric Martin

Total players: 53
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Preseason Week 1 Patriots 53-man Roster Projection

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As expected things have been made a little easier with some of the injuries, or more specifically the injury news, that we’ve gotten over the first week-and-a-half of training camp.

Here’s where I’m at on my 53-man, and I think it’s important to mention that this isn’t just about who makes the team, it’s about who you want to protect and who you want to guarantee salary to.

OFFENSE

QB (2) T.Brady, J.Garoppolo – Brady misses zero games.

RB (5) B.Bolden, J.White, T.Cadet, J.Gray, James Develin (Blount gets roster exemption for suspension) – Develin in, Gaffney out.

WR (5) J.Edelman, B.LaFell, D.Amendola, A.Dobson, M.Slater – Dobson’s got another injury. If he misses extended time they might be done with him. On the fence with Gibson and Tyms.

TE (3) R.Gronkowski, S.Chandler, M.Hoomanawanui – Pretty safe bet this is where we end up unless Chandler misses a lot of time and they need another vet.

OL  (8) B.Stork, T.Jackson, S.Mason, R.Wendell, M.Cannon, N.Solder, S.Vollmer, Fleming: Considered keeping Kline but I think they have enough versatility to manage with this eight.

DEFENSE

DE (5) R.Ninkovich, C.Jones, J.Sheard, G.Grissom, T.Flowers – Exciting group who can be moved all over the place.

DT (5) S.Siliga, A.Branch, Z.Moore, M.Brown, D.Easley – Moved Moore here, I think he’s an interior tackle guy now, at least on passing downs. Antonio Johnson is a good story, I think his fate is tied to Branch. We’ll see if either stand out in preseason. 

ILB(3) J. Mayo, J.Freeny, J.Morris – Fletcher will be on the PUP into the season (out 6 weeks), Freeny is a good veteran presence with special team value while Morris sneaks on the roster.

OLB(3) D. Hightower, J.Collins, D.Fleming – Fleming is one to watch on Thursday. Should play a lot and could take a big step forward this year.

CB (5) L.Ryan, T.Brown, M.Butler, M.McClain, D. Roberts – Fletcher’s a tough cut, but Brown has emerged. Roberts grabs one of the last roster spots. Jean is a good practice squad candidate as well.

S (6) D.McCourty, D.Harmon, P.Chung, J.Richards, T.Wilson, N.Ebner – Wilson having too good a camp to cut, he has special teams value too.

ST (3) S.Gostkowski, R.Allen, J.Cardona – Yup.

Total players: 53
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Patriots Pre-Training Camp 53-Man Roster Projection

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The PatsPicker over at PatsFans.com is up and it’s a fantastic app to quickly put together your own 53-man roster projection. Here’s where I’m at right now as I see the opening night roster shaping up. Share yours below!

QB (2) T.Brady, J.Garoppolo – I’m just assuming Brady will be good to go and not sit out any games. So no drama here.

RB (5) J.Gray, T.Gaffney, J.White, B.Bolden, T.Cadet – Tough cutting Develin and I just can’t see how Gray/Cadet/Gaffney plays out. Blount enters the mix Week 2.

WR (5) J.Edelman, B.LaFell, D.Amendola, A.Dobson, M.Slater – Tyms vs. Dobson and for some reason I’m going with Dobson here even though I like Tyms special teams ability and deep threat-y-ness.

TE (3) R.Gronkowski, S.Chandler, M.Hoomanawanui – Hooman continues to be the unsung stalwart of the tight end group, but Chandler will bump him down the depth chart. Very solid threesome.

C  (1) B.Stork – Excited about Stork taking a big step in Year 2.

G  (3) T.Jackson, R.Wendell, S.Mason – Wendell sneaks on again as I don’t think Mason beats him out. Both he and Mason could play center too in a pinch.

T  (4) N.Solder, S.Vollmer, M.Cannon, C.Fleming – Very good group with some guard versatility for Cannon and Fleming.

DE (6) R.Ninkovich, C.Jones, J.Sheard, Z.Moore, G.Grissom, T.Flowers –  Been a while since the defensive end group has been this deep. Could see Moore in an interior tackle role as well, or Grissom could shift to OLB as well. Nink/Chan/Sheard a solid rotation at the top.

DT (5) M.Brown, D.Easley, Chr.Jones, S.Siliga, A.Branch – Heavy rotation early on with this group, but they can do it all and there’s enough talent to replace Wilfork. Easley and Brown are real wild cards. If they play like first round picks…

ILB(3) J.Mayo, D.Fletcher, C.White –  Sticking with the knowns here, as Fletcher and White can both play special teams and fill in on defense in a pinch. Mayo faces a critical year.

OLB(3) J.Collins, D.Hightower, D.Fleming – Two of the best young LBs lead the way here with Darius Fleming showing some promise and taking a positive step being two years removed from knee surgery.

CB (5) L.Ryan, M.Butler, B.Fletcher, T.Brown, D.Roberts – Really hope the young guys take the jobs, but Fletcher and Brown were once very promising starters so they’re a good fallback option. McClain was a tough cut in the slot. Swanson could be a dark horse there too.

SS (3) P.Chung, N.Ebner, J.Richards – Swap Tavon Wilson for Richards. Ebner could be on the bubble but BB doesn’t mess around with STs.

FS (2) D.McCourty, D.Harmon – McCourty leading the way in the secondary and Harmon is a good back up for him who should play more snaps this year than last.

ST (3) S.Gostkowski, R.Allen, J.Cardona – Perhaps the best K/P combo in the NFL and Cardona has the makings of a special LS.

Week 1 Suspension: LeGarrette Blount – I always kinda like having a guy or two suspended to allow an extra roster spot heading into the regular season. If the NFL wanted to make it hard they’d make suspended guys count during final cuts.

Total players: 53
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Tough cuts: Matthew Wells/Xzavier Dickson (both need a PS year if they can sneak them on), Josh Klein (might be my biggest mistake here, could see a scenario he’s starting), Brian Tyms, James Develin.

Patriots 53-Man Roster Projection: Preseason Week 3 Edition

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With the release of three veterans I thought would make the team in my earlier projections, some real estate has been opened up for even more of a youth movement than expected this season.

I still think there will be more additions, at least at tight end, maybe at defensive end as well. 

One big takeaway from the cuts of Will Smith, Tommy Kelly and James Anderson is that it looks like the Pats are truly ready to get away from using two space-eating defensive tackles, or really any resemblance to the 3-4 of old.

Kelly was irreplaceable in terms of the potential schematic flexibility he could give. Safe bet we now see a base nickel defense with a space-eater (Wilfork/Siliga) and a one-gapping DT (Jones/Vellano/Easley/Worthy).

QB (2) Brady, Garoppolo – I’ve taken Mallett off, I’ve seen enough of Garoppolo to think he would be okay and a much better fit if he got thrown into the fire as a rookie. Mallett has shown limited improvement and would require a full tweak of the offense.

RB (5) Ridley, Vereen, White, Develin, Bolden – Bolden slips on here, good versatile group even if there’s not a short-yardage ace. Mike Reiss speculated Ridley could be in trouble after a brief Game 3 appearance, I’m not ready to cut him yet, he’s still their most physical ball carrier.

WR (6) Edelman, Thompkins, Amendola, LaFell, Dobson, Slater – This seems like the group.

TE (2) Gronkowski, Hoomanawanui – Pencil in an addition here, I’ve even left them a roster spot.

C (2) Wendell, Stork – Maybe Stork develops over the season, but Wendell/Connolly starting makes the most sense.

G (3) Mankins, Connolly, Kline – Kline could see a lot of time this year as a swing backup, might even push Connolly back to center. Could also play some tight end.

T (4) Solder, Vollmer, Cannon, Fleming – athletic, versatile group that could see a touchdown catch this year playing tight end in jumbo goalline packages.

DE (4) Jones, Ninkovich, Buchanan, Moore – Not sold Moore isn’t headed to the PS, but for now this spot it his. Could go to a vet pickup. Is Buchanan ready to be a significant rotational DE? Huge question now that Smith is gone. Bequette still could sneak on because of lack of depth, but right now I think it’d be Moore.

DT (6) Wilfork, Easley, Jones, Siliga, Worthy, Vellano – Vellano and Worthy get a bump with Kelly/Smith gone.

LB(6) Hightower, Beauharnais, White, Mayo, Collins, Fleming – Morris and Davis go to the PS, while Fleming carves out a rotational role. Mayo/Collins don’t leave the field, Hightower rotates in a number of roles (Incl. pass rusher?).

CB (5) Revis, Arrington, Dennard, Butler, Ryan – deepest group in a while.

SS (2) Chung, Ebner – Chung expected to see time on early downs. Still wouldn’t mind keeping Tavon Wilson here considering Chung’s injury history.

FS (2) McCourty, Harmon – These two are the deep shell. McCourty won’t leave the field.

ST (3) Gostkowski, Allen, Aiken – Same as it ever was.

SUSPENDED – Browner, Tyms

Total players: 52 – (space for one external addition)
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Patriots 53-Man Roster Projection (Preseason Week 2 Edition)

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Here’s my latest stab at the 53-man roster. Lots of questions remain and this is far from a finished product. My biggest areas of question are at linebacker, where it’s hard to say how the special teams and back-up spots will play out and tight end, where depth is a joke there right now.

QB (3) Brady, Mallett, Garoppolo – High confidence rate here that all three will stick.

RB (4) Ridley, Vereen, White, Develin – Dropped Bolden this time around, think White is good enough to backup both base and 3rd down duties, while Develin will be an FB/H-back/TE.

WR (6) Edelman, Dobson, Amendola, LaFell, Thompkins, Slater – Haven’t seen enough out of Boyce while the starting spot seems wide open between Dobson/LaFell/Thompkins.

TE (2) Gronkowski, Hoomanawanui – Things are light here with injuries, will have to take a closer look at Maneri. Could be an addition here after the final cutdown.

C (2) Connolly, Stork – Connolly seems to have been the main guy at center, while Stork is on the road to recovery. Wendell’s lack of versatility spells his end.

G (3) Mankins, Halapio, Kline – Kline has been a standout in practices, can he lock down a starting role?

T (4) Solder, Vollmer, Cannon, Fleming – Cannon can play any spot but center, that’s a huge help. They won’t carry more than 9 OL.

DE (4) Jones, Ninkovich, Smith, Buchanan – Moore goes to the practice squad while Bequette’s time is up. Not much depth here.

DT (6) Wilfork, Kelly, Easley, Siliga, Jones, Worthy – Big injury questions here, but once everyone is healthy and in game shape look out.

ILB(2) Mayo, Beauharnais – Would like to see more out of Beauharnais than we did in the first preseason game. He could very well be one injury away from playing time on defense.

OLB(4) Hightower, Collins, Anderson, White – Good group that should make a lot of plays.

CB (5) Revis, Dennard, Ryan, Arrington, Butler – Browner doesn’t count against the initial 53 so he’s off. Butler has been the surprise standout of camp.

SS (3) Chung, Wilson, Ebner – Forget traditional safety spots, Chung should see a lot of time in the box. I think he could revitalize his career this season.

FS (2) McCourty, Harmon – Two solid back end guys who can come up to the line of scrimmage as well.

ST (3) Gostkowski, Allen, Aiken – Same as it ever was.

Total players: 53
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