The New England Patriots were quite busy over the weekend, making 42 combined transactions to go from previously 91 to 53 players on their active roster. A majority of those moves were expected to happen, but the team of head coach Mike Vrabel nonetheless managed to pull off some minor surprises.
With that in mind, let's take a look at the moves that can be qualified as surprises through the lens of our established winners and losers format. It would be easy to label the 53 men on the active roster as winners and the rest as losers, but every situation is different and the reality much more nuanced than simply asking who is in or out.
QB Behren Morton: With Drake Maye a franchise-caliber player and Tommy DeVito an able and experienced backup, the top of the Patriots' quarterback depth chart was set in stone throughout the summer. The question was whether or not Morton had done enough to warrant being kept as one of the 53 players on the roster. Turns out he had. Despite some shortcomings elsewhere on the team, he made it through cutdown day as QB3 and the projected emergency option on game day.
OT Dametrious Crownover: Shortly before the cutdown deadline at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, the Patriots made a trade with the Vikings to bring in versatile offensive lineman Walter Rouse, a player capable of lining up at both tackle and guard. And yet, despite his presence, the team decided to keep four pure tackles on the initial 53. Three of those — Will Campbell, Morgan Moses, Caleb Lomu — were set in stone to begin with, but Crownover's position seemed less secure with Rouse in the mix. However, he seemingly had nothing to worry about and done enough over the summer to secure a roster spot in lieu of nominal OT4 Marcus Bryant.
ED Quintayvious Hutchins: The defensive edge had been in the spotlight going back to the offseason, and it remains a question at this point as well. Through the cutdown deadline, however, the Patriots opted to go with four players, Hutchins among them. His inclusion over fellow edges Bradyn Swinson and Jesse Luketa might have come surprisingly, but the seventh-round draft pick has developed nicely over the summer to make the pair expendable.
#cutdown #morton
With that in mind, let's take a look at the moves that can be qualified as surprises through the lens of our established winners and losers format. It would be easy to label the 53 men on the active roster as winners and the rest as losers, but every situation is different and the reality much more nuanced than simply asking who is in or out.
QB Behren Morton: With Drake Maye a franchise-caliber player and Tommy DeVito an able and experienced backup, the top of the Patriots' quarterback depth chart was set in stone throughout the summer. The question was whether or not Morton had done enough to warrant being kept as one of the 53 players on the roster. Turns out he had. Despite some shortcomings elsewhere on the team, he made it through cutdown day as QB3 and the projected emergency option on game day.
OT Dametrious Crownover: Shortly before the cutdown deadline at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, the Patriots made a trade with the Vikings to bring in versatile offensive lineman Walter Rouse, a player capable of lining up at both tackle and guard. And yet, despite his presence, the team decided to keep four pure tackles on the initial 53. Three of those — Will Campbell, Morgan Moses, Caleb Lomu — were set in stone to begin with, but Crownover's position seemed less secure with Rouse in the mix. However, he seemingly had nothing to worry about and done enough over the summer to secure a roster spot in lieu of nominal OT4 Marcus Bryant.
ED Quintayvious Hutchins: The defensive edge had been in the spotlight going back to the offseason, and it remains a question at this point as well. Through the cutdown deadline, however, the Patriots opted to go with four players, Hutchins among them. His inclusion over fellow edges Bradyn Swinson and Jesse Luketa might have come surprisingly, but the seventh-round draft pick has developed nicely over the summer to make the pair expendable.
#cutdown #morton
2 days ago
