FOXBORO — Tuesday is a tough one in the NFL, as a lot of players will find out they are no longer employed by a team. It’s cutdown day, with a 4 p.m. deadline for all 32 teams to have their roster down to 53 players.
The Patriots got their roster trimming started over the last few days, but still have a lot of work to do. There are 77 players on New England’s roster, meaning the team will have to move on from 24 more players before this afternoon.
And some very intriguing questions remain with the deadline approaching.
Will New England carry six receivers into the 2023 season, with rookies Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte both making the team? Will Malik Cunningham make the team as a third quarterback and keep Bill Belichick’s UDFA streak going? Will they make another trade to help along the offensive line?
We’ll have these answers in a few short hours. Stick right here for all of New England’s cuts and roster moves throughout the day.
1:42 p.m.: Tight end Anthony Firkser has been cut, according to Mark Daniels.
1:18 p.m.: We have some clarity at kicker! The job now belongs to rookie Chad Ryland, with the Patriots reportedly trading Nick Folk to the Tennessee Titans for a 2025 seventh-round pick.
So New England will be relying on a rookie with a booming leg to put the ball through the uprights this season.
1:05 p.m.: The offensive line is getting a big reinforcement soon. Calvin Anderson, who has been on the NFI list all summer after signing with the team in the offseason, will be activated today and can begin practicing immediately, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.
Patriots OT Calvin Anderson will be activated from the non-football injury list today, per source.
Anderson can begin practicing immediately and it opens the door to him being available for game action as soon as Week 1.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) August 29, 2023
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound tackle started 12 of the 41 games that he appeared in with the Denver Broncos over the last three seasons. He played 47 percent of Denver’s offensive snaps in 2022.
Anderson getting on the field will be a welcome addition to a New England offensive line that has struggled to stay healthy all summer. The 27-year-old will have to get up to speed with his new team and may need to get into game shape, but the Patriots depth at tackle looks a lot better right now than it did a few hours ago.
12:56 p.m.: We have our first cut of the day, with the Patriots cutting ties with offensive lineman Chasen Hines, according to Doug Kyed of The Boston Herald.
Hines was a sixth-round pick out of LSU in 2022, but spent a good chunk of his first NFL training camp on the NFI list. He was activated on Aug. 8, but landed on IR on Oct. 29 without having played in a game.
He’s a candidate to land on the practice squad, but it’s an interesting move given the current state of the Patriots offensive line.
10:57 a.m.: One player the Patriots will NOT be trading today is receiver Kendrick Bourne. Teams have called about him, and the Patriots have shot them all down, according to a report from The Athletic.
8:05 a.m.: With the Patriots drafting kicker Chad Ryland, Nick Folk’s time in New England is likely over. But it looks like New England is looking to move the veteran kicker rather than outright release him.
The Patriots have engaged in trade discussions involving kicker Nick Folk, sources told me and @DMRussini. Folk had been in a camp competition with rookie Chad Ryland. @TheAthletic
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) August 29, 2023
7: 30 a.m.: The Patriots cut two players on Monday: quarterback Trace McSorley and punter Corliss Waitman. Those moves followed the team’s 11 cuts on Sunday evening:
DL Carl Davis Jr.
LB Diego Fagot
DB Brad Hawkins Jr.
TE Johnny Lumpkin
RB C.J. Marable
DB Quandre Mosely
DB Rodney Randle Jr.
DL Justus Tavai
OL Micah Vanterpool
TE Scotty Washington
LB Carson Wells
In addition to releasing those players, the Pats also traded running back Pierre Strong Jr. to the Browns for offensive tackle Tyrone Wheatley Jr. In a separate move, New England picked up tackle Vederian Lowe from the Vikings for a future draft pick.
