2016 Roster News & Reactions

Frank Castillo

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Apr 16, 2013
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Wild suppositions based on tonight's playing time patterns:
  • Knighton is in trouble. For that matter, none of the interior guys are locks except Brown and Valentine. Valentine looked pretty good.
  • Gaffney is in good shape. Would be surprised if he didn't make the roster at this point.
  • Karras started at RG and was the backup C. He might be a lock with Stork gone.
  • LeBlanc is ahead of the other young CBs (Roberts and Jones), though I noticed Roberts was out there on the opening KO. Jones looked good on punt coverage. LeBlanc was in on Jones' long punt return
  • Flowers is ahead of Grissom. Grissom could even be a bubble guy
  • Derby is ahead of the other TEs
  • A lot of 3 safety stuff with Harmon / Richards / Vinnie Sunseri. Sunseri's going to be a tough cut. It's hard to see him making the 53-man but I could see him back on the roster at some point, a la King last year
  • Dobson is ahead of Martin / Carter / Harper / Lucien for that 4th/5th/6th WR spot. I still don't think that makes him a lock, but with Mitchell and Amendola hurt he's got a good shot
  • I don't know what to make of the 3rd/4th LB spot. I see Humber and Roberts out there early. Did Grugier-Hill even play?
I don't think Sunseri had a very good game. Missed two tackles in a row.
 

j44thor

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Aug 1, 2006
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If Knighton is indeed on the bubble wouldn't he be cut today? Not like Belichik to sit a vet for a game and not give him a chance to catch on elsewhere.
 

RedOctober3829

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I agree with everybody that Knighton's spot on the roster is tenuous. But, it could have been also a situation where he wanted to get as many looks for the younger guys as possible and that meant TK not play. BB obviously knows what he has in him and he needs to find out which younger DT's to keep.
 

lambeau

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The more we see Anthony Johnson, the more the league sees him--can he get to the practice squad? Same with Geneo Grissom and Rufus Johnson, since Nink, Long, Sheard, Flowers, Mingo must be locks.
 

Maximus

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Jul 18, 2005
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I agree with everybody that Knighton's spot on the roster is tenuous. But, it could have been also a situation where he wanted to get as many looks for the younger guys as possible and that meant TK not play. BB obviously knows what he has in him and he needs to find out which younger DT's to keep.
I hope that is the case. TK would be a nice piece in the middle for this D.
 

E5 Yaz

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Asked about Knighton's progression late Friday, coach Bill Belichick echoed those thoughts, saying, "Some new techniques, some new things, different things than what he's been used to. We played the younger guys tonight; we didn't get as much of a look at him. He played a little more last week. I think it's a good competition at that position. We'll have to see how it all plays out."
http://www.espn.com/blog/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4795091/dt-terrance-knighton-uncertain-of-patriots-future-after-not-playing-on-d
 

( . ) ( . ) and (_!_)

T&A
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I hope that is the case. TK would be a nice piece in the middle for this D.
TK would be a nice piece if he can still play.
Guy is a large body with a lot of years/mileage. TK from 5 years ago would be awesome to have. But I have no idea if he can still be that guy or even be 80% of that guy. It wouldn't make sense to keep him on reputation alone.
 

dynomite

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I agree with everybody that Knighton's spot on the roster is tenuous. But, it could have been also a situation where he wanted to get as many looks for the younger guys as possible and that meant TK not play. BB obviously knows what he has in him and he needs to find out which younger DT's to keep.
But isn't that traditionally what 1st, 2nd, and 4th preseason games are for?

Ultimately I trust their judgment. I can't remember too many instances where a guy cut in training camp seemed like a mistake in hindsight. If Belichick doesn't think Knighton has anything left, he's probably right.
 

RedOctober3829

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But isn't that traditionally what 1st, 2nd, and 4th preseason games are for?

Ultimately I trust their judgment. I can't remember too many instances where a guy cut in training camp seemed like a mistake in hindsight. If Belichick doesn't think Knighton has anything left, he's probably right.
BB doesn't subscribe to the "3rd preseason game is a dress rehearsal" narrative.
 

Super Nomario

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I don't understand the "Richards on the bubble" thinking. That would be unprecedented for a second-round pick and he seems far from the kind of knucklehead that would justify that.
 

axx

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I don't understand the "Richards on the bubble" thinking. That would be unprecedented for a second-round pick and he seems far from the kind of knucklehead that would justify that.
Yeah, but last year. Not exactly cap friendly to cut him though.
 

Super Nomario

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Guys like Richards and Grissom won't sneak through to the PS. Someone like King might but not those two. I'm walking off my Valentine to PS thought from a week ago.
This is a smart way of thinking about the end-of-roster decisions, I think. I'm not sure about King because he's so good on special teams, but I could see them do something like only keep 4 CB and try to bring LeBlanc back later.

Gaffney and DJ Foster looked awfully good; neither probably makes it to the practice squad--how dp you keep them both?
I wouldn't be surprised if Foster could sneak through. He was undrafted, after all (though he got real bonus money so there must have been some competition). There's kind of a tweener question: is he a WR or a RB? He's missed some preseason time. Also, a lot of teams don't value the receiving back role as much as the Pats do.
 

lambeau

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Special Teams Participation >30 % 2015

Mingo 84.4% (Cleve)
Ebner 75.1
Slater 63.5
King 54.4
Bolden 53.4
Richards 51.3
Freeny 50.5
Chung 47.9
Bostic 39.5
Harmon 34.6
M Williams 33.4
McCourty 31.4
T Wilson 31.4

Gost 38.5
R Allen 33.4
Cardona 33.4

For roster construction purposes, Mingo replaces Bostic, Grugier-Hill for Tavon W?
Presumably Derby or Develin can take Williams' place.
 

RedOctober3829

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Roster Projection 3.0. 54 man roster. Factored in all players still on PUP since it's pretty late in the game now.
QB(3)-Brady, Jimmy G, Brissett
RB(5)-Blount, White, Bolden, Gaffney, Develin
(PUP-Lewis)
WR(5)-Edelman, Hogan, Mitchell, Dobson, Martin
(PUP-Amendola)
TE(3)-Gronkowski, Bennett, Derby
OL(9)-Solder, Cannon, Waddle, Thuney, Karras, Cooper, Andrews, Mason, Kline
(PUP-Jackson)

DT(4)-Brown, Branch, Valentine, Johnson
DE(5)-Long, Ninkovich, Flowers, Sheard, Grissom
LB(6)-Hightower, Collins, Freeny, McClellin, KGH, Mingo
CB(4)-Butler, Ryan, C. Jones, Coleman
S(4)-DMC, Chung, Harmon, Richards

ST(6)-Gostkowski, Allen, Cardona, King, Ebner, Slater
 

lambeau

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I really like this 3.0 roster a lot. Very thoughtful.
Grissom played 28.9% of special team snaps; he's a 3rd Rd pick developing as a DE.
Johnson is looking great; Kuhn has been in the backfield too, but Johnson is only 23.
(And he was the top tackle prospect in the country coming out of high school in 2010.)
Martin and Dobson both are needed until Mitchell (or Amendola) is healthy.
Foster may get to the PS since his style may be less valued elsewhere.
 

Zincman

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Jul 31, 2006
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It will be interesting to see how final roster cuts by other teams affect this well-thought out roster. Are the Pats likely to add given that many off their cuts and potential stashes will be claimed by others?
 

Super Nomario

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Roster Projection 3.0. 54 man roster. Factored in all players still on PUP since it's pretty late in the game
This looks spot-on to me. I think they like LeBlanc the best of the 5th CB options, and his size and poor Pro Day results means they can probably stash him on PS until he's needed. I'm curious as to whether they take Cam Fleming seriously as an extra blocker - blocking TE Michael Williams played a lot last year, but they've got a real second TE in Bennett plus Develin. They also might be able to keep another player by putting Cooper on IR (and planning to have him return).

It will be interesting to see how final roster cuts by other teams affect this well-thought out roster. Are the Pats likely to add given that many off their cuts and potential stashes will be claimed by others?
I feel like we assume a bunch of Pats will get picked up every year but it rarely happens. We'll see.
 

Zedia

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Jul 17, 2005
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Roster Projection 3.0. 54 man roster. Factored in all players still on PUP since it's pretty late in the game now.
Brady doesn't count towards the 53, so you can keep someone else a few weeks. Will they IR a short-term injury guy like Nink or Mitchell (with the intention they return) to get another spot? Or is leaving that spot open for future injuries a consideration?

It seems like one of LeBlanc or J. Jones needs to stick. I'm irrationally excited about D.J. Foster.

Edit - Duh, you said 54, so nevermind about Brady.
 

( . ) ( . ) and (_!_)

T&A
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There is a lot of excitement about DJ Foster and I totally get it. But he is going to get cut. Unless he is blowing the coaches away at practice then he really hasn't shown enough where there is a high risk of another team signing him to their 53 man roster. And honestly even if he does slip away it's not like a generational talent is going out the door. He is an exciting lottery ticket but still just a lottery ticket right now.
 

j44thor

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Reading pats only save 1.7 against cap by releasing pot roast, is that correct? If so that was a pricy miss.
 

jsinger121

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Jul 25, 2005
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Reading pats only save 1.7 against cap by releasing pot roast, is that correct? If so that was a pricy miss.
Most of the money was incentive's up to 4.5 million. He was paid 250k signing bonus and I believe he had another 100k workout bonus. It's not a pricey miss at all.
 

BigSoxFan

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Guess the Pot Roast from 2013 is gone forever. He was a force for Denver a couple years ago. Yet another veteran signing that I had high hopes for but which didn't pan out. I certainly hope the DTs stay healthy. Not much depth there.
 

dynomite

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Guess the Pot Roast from 2013 is gone forever. He was a force for Denver a couple years ago. Yet another veteran signing that I had high hopes for but which didn't pan out. I certainly hope the DTs stay healthy. Not much depth there.
Brown, Branch, Valentine, and one of Johnson/Kuhn is a good mix I think.

At the moment I'm more worried about the OL depth (well, more like health and performance) to be honest.
 

lambeau

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Cooper's back! Maybe not a full participant, but at least he's walking around--good news because plantar fasciitis can drag on forever.
Mason should be ready soon, so it's great they'll be able to pick the best starter before long.
 

Lynn's love child

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Aug 25, 2016
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Cooper's back! Maybe not a full participant, but at least he's walking around--good news because plantar fasciitis can drag on forever.
Mason should be ready soon, so it's great they'll be able to pick the best starter before long.
I hope Scar can do something with Cooper. Talent seems to be there.
 

Super Nomario

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http://nesn.com/2016/08/patriots-53-man-roster-projection-tough-cuts-at-d-line-wide-receiver/
Doug Kyed has Kuhn being kept and Grissom and Anthony Johnson cut; DJ Foster kept over Gaffney.
I wonder if he's hearing things or speculating.
It doesn't sound like he's heard anything. He wrote "I’m still not convinced Foster or Gaffney will make the 53-man roster. I believe Gaffney could be easier to slip onto the practice squad, however" and "Grissom was the final cut on our 53-man roster, and keeping Kuhn over Anthony Johnson was a tough decision." I don't think it's crazy, though my guess is he's wrong on both counts.
 

Saints Rest

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It doesn't sound like he's heard anything. He wrote "I’m still not convinced Foster or Gaffney will make the 53-man roster. I believe Gaffney could be easier to slip onto the practice squad, however" and "Grissom was the final cut on our 53-man roster, and keeping Kuhn over Anthony Johnson was a tough decision." I don't think it's crazy, though my guess is he's wrong on both counts.
My wild-assed, based on nothing, guess is that Gaffney makes the team and LGBT is a surprise cut.