Tracking Patriots' roster moves on cutdown day

Though the Patriots haven't officially announced their moves three hours after the deadline, the league wire has confirmed all of the day's activities.

Click here to see all of the players who were cut, as well as the 53-man roster.

The roster includes 10 rookies, including UDFAs Brenden Schooler and DaMarcus Mitchell. Rookie Chasen Hines also earned a spot on the O-line over veteran James Ferentz.

ESPN's Mike Reiss tweeted out several more cuts from the Patriots.

The cuts include tight ends Matt Sokol and Jalen Wydermyer, O-linemen James Ferentz and Yasir Durant, and kicker Tristan Vizcaino.

Additionally, Field Yates added some context to the Henry Anderson and Kristian Wilkerson moves, noting that both players have been placed on injured reserve, likely ending their seasons (unless an injury settlement is reached).

Defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale moved to the suspended list (for a suspension issued in June), and LaBryan Ray was waived as well.

A complete list of the cuts and the initial 53-man roster will be released soon. 

An undrafted free agent always makes the team, and this year is no different.

Defensive lineman DaMarcus Mitchell has made the team, according to Mark Daniels.

Mitchell played collegiately at Purdue and impressed throughout the summer.

Brenden Schooler appears to have a great shot of making the roster too, after the release of Justin Bethel, though official word on the roster has still yet to come down.

At last check, the Patriots still had nine roster spots to clear, so there will still be plenty of news to come in the next hour or two.

Here are the 18 players who have reportedly been released or waived today already:

Henry Anderson
Devin Asiasi
Justin Bethel
Drew Desjarlais
Arlington Hambright
Josh Hammond
Kevin Harris
Lil'Jordan Humphrey
Harvey Langi
Cam McGrone
Terrance Mitchell
Bill Murray
Tre Nixon
Jeremiah Pharms Jr.
Kody Russey
William Sherman
J.J. Taylor
Nate Wieland

Mark Daniels reports that defensive lineman Sam Roberts has made the team.

Roberts was a sixth-round pick (200th overall) by the Patriots this year out of Northwest Missouri State. He was the Cliff Harris Award winner as the best small college defensive player in the country.

Second-year safety Joshuah Bledsoe has made the team, according to Andrew Callahan.

Bledsoe was a sixth-round pick out of Missouri last season but spent the bulk of his rookie season on injured reserve.

Bill Belichick spoke on Monday about the strength of his safety group, with Devin McCourty, Adrian Phillips, Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers atop the depth chart, but Bledsoe was able to secure a spot with his work this spring and summer.

Kody Russey was thought to have a real chance to make the roster as an undrafted free agent, but he was waived on Tuesday.

Russey played at Houston last year after playing four seasons at Louisiana Tech.

Bill Murray flipped sides this year, going from the defensive line to the offensive line. He may soon be on the practice squad, though, as he was waived today.

Murray has been on the team since 2020 but hasn't played in a game.

Lil'Jordan Humphrey, one of the best performers of the preseason, has been cut.

The Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan reported that the team cut the wide receiver.

Humphrey caught 13 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown this preseason, while also making a tremendous play to keep a punt from bouncing into the end zone.

Bill Belichick had described Humphrey as "tight end-ish," lending some belief that he might make the roster as a quasi-tight end. But he didn't make it through cutdown day.

While the Patriots would likely be happy to keep him on the practice squad, his preseason performance might have been enough to convince a team to claim him on the waiver wire.

Second-year wide receiver Tre Nixon showed a lot of promise this summer, but he wasn't able to make it past cutdown day.

The Pats are waiving Nixon, according to Doug Kyed.

Kyed noted that Nixon has a good chance of returning to the team on the practice squad, if he clears waivers.

Nixon led the team with 169 receiving yards on 12 catches this preseason. He was a seventh-round pick (242nd overall) out of Central Florida last year, a pick made by Ernie Adams before his retirement.

When the Patriots drafted Cam McGrone in 2021, they did so knowing he'd miss his rookie year, with the potential to make an impact in 2022. 

It doesn't look like he'll get that chance, though, as Mark Daniels reported that he's been waived.

McGrone was a fifth-round pick out of Michigan last year.

Wide receiver Josh Hammond has been waived, according to Pro Football Focus' Doug Kyed.

Hammond had four receptions for 33 yards in the preseason this year. Hammond played in two games for the Jaguars last year but took just 13 snaps and didn't get any passes thrown his way.

Linebacker Nate Wieland and defensive lineman Jeremiah Pharms Jr. have also been waived, according to Mark Daniels.

William Sherman, a sixth-round pick last year, is being waived, according to the Boston Herald's Karen Guregian.

Sherman spent his rookie year on the practice squad but was active for one game, getting on the field for six special teams snaps.

The Patriots have not trimmed their roster by 10 players, leaving 17 more moves to come.

A trio of veteran players are heading out.

ESPN's Field Yates reported that running back J.J. Taylor, special teamer Justin Bethel, and defensive lineman Henry Anderson have been released.

Taylor was something of a fan favorite as an undersized running back over the past couple of years, but he failed to produce much in the regular season. He's rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns on 42 carries while catching five passes for 12 yards in 11 career games.

Anderson signed with the Patriots in March of 2021, but his season was cut short after four games due to a torn pectoral muscle.

Bethel signed with the Patriots during the 2019 season after getting released by the Ravens. He played in 42 games for the Patriots.

Those moves bring the number of released/waived players to nine, leaving 18 more to go before the 4 p.m. deadline.

Offensive lineman Arlington Hambright stood out early in training camp but didn't finish the summer with the same flourish, and now he's being waived.

Hambright is the sixth player to be released thus far.

It looks like Pierre Strong Jr. won the camp competition in the running back room, as fellow rookie Kevin Harris is being waived, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

Harris led the Patriots in rushing this summer with 80 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. He should be considered a viable practice squad candidate if he clears waivers.

Harris rushed for 1,977 yards and 23 touchdown on 358 carries in his collegiate career at South Carolina.

The Pats are releasing linebacker Harvey Langi and offensive lineman Drew Desjarlais.

Once again, ESPN's Mike Reiss reported the Langi news, while the Providence Journal's Mark Daniels reported the Desjarlais news.

Langi was in year two of his second stint with the Patriots, after returning to the team lat year following two years with the Jets. He had just three total tackles in seven games last year.

Terrance Mitchell and Malcolm Butler were the biggest signings at the cornerback position this past offseason for the Patriots. Neither will be playing for the team in 2022, though.

ESPN's Mike Reiss said that the team informed Mitchell that he will be released.

Mitchell, 30, is a veteran of seven NFL seasons with the Bears, Cowboys, Chiefs, Browns and Texans. A seventh-round pick by Dallas in 2014, he's played in 83 games, starting 51 of them, while recording eight interceptions and 59 pass defenses. Last year in Houston, he played in 14 games, recording one interception, 10 pass defenses, and 60 total tackles (45 solo).  

The Patriots have moved Jonathan Jones out of the slot cornerback role into an outside cornerback role this summer, with Jalen Mills occupying the other outside spot. 

Mitchell had signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Patriots, though just $150,000 of base salary and a $200,000 bonus was guaranteed.

While there's been a lot of action around the league since Monday, the Patriots had yet to make a move. That was until now, when tight end Devin Asiasi has been informed of his release, according to ESPN's Mike Reiss.

Asiasi was entering his third year with the Patriots, after getting drafted 91st overall in the 2020 draft out of UCLA. He's played in just 10 games, catching only two passes for 39 yards and one touchdown. He played in just one game last year.

He's the second third-round tight end from the 2020 draft released by the Patriots this summer, joining Dalton Keene.

Bill Belichick has been through dozens of cutdown days, and this marks his 23rd as head coach of the Patriots. Still, the job is never really easy.

"Absolutely. Absolutely, without a doubt," Belichick said Tuesday morning when asked if making cuts weigh on him as a head coach. "Everybody knows what the situation is when we go into it. We have 90 players, we go to 53; 37 of the 90 can't be on the team. Whichever 37 they are, that's another conversation. But 37 of the 90 can't make the 53-man roster. And we all know that this is a production business, and it's very competitive, and when you join the National Football League, you know what that's gonna be. You're one of 90, you have to earn a spot as one of the 53.

"So there's no new rules, ground rules. There's nothing new there. The actual process is very difficult for all of us -- myself, certainly assistant coaches who have established a close relationship with their players and respect for their players because of their effort, work ethic and commitment that they make to the team," Belichick continued. "But ultimately 37 of those 90 players can't be with the team. So it's always difficult to talk to those players about the fact that they've done a lot, they've contributed a lot, they've worked hard, they've put a lot into it, but 37 of the 90 -- or now 27 of the 90, with the roster being at 80 -- are not gonna be on the 53-man roster. So that is difficult. It's difficult for the players. I'm sure all their family, friends, and so forth hear the news, contact them, and so forth. There's a hard part of dealing with that."

Belichick did not that instead of outright cutting 27 players on Tuesday, the number is closer to 10 players, as the NFL allows for 16-man practice squads. While that's not ideal, it's at least a way for players to continue their development while maintaining NFL employment. Still, the difficulty of making cuts weighs on every member of the organization, according to Belichick.

"It's a difficult time for players," he said, "the head coach, and I would say the position coaches and other members of the organization who have established relationships with the players through whatever roles they have, with trainers, equipment people, operations and so forth, PR, you name it."