After releasing 14 players on Monday, the New England Patriots continued their roster purge ahead of the 53-man roster deadline on Tuesday.
On the final roster cut day, the team revealed they had released 16 players.
There were a couple of surprise names on the list, including running back Kevin Harris and cornerback Shaun Wade.
Harris was believed to be a lock by many as the No. 3 running back on the roster behind Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson. However, he ended up getting beat out by veteran JaMycal Hasty.
Wade appeared in 14 games total and started in six of them last year. Like Harris, he had been with the Patriots for the previous three seasons.
Quarterback Bailey Zappe was the most notable name on the list, even though his release wasn’t surprising. The quarterback room became increasingly crowded in the offseason with the additions of Jacoby Brissett, Drake Maye and Joe Milton III. It reached a point where Zappe was considering a long-shot roster hopeful.
Here’s the full list of players who were cut on Tuesday:
- S Joshuah Bledsoe
- T Kellen Diesch
- OL Liam Fornadel
- LB Joe Giles-Harris
- RB Kevin Harris
- RB Terrell Jennings
- LB Kobe Jones
- WR Matt Landers
- G Atonio Mafi
- DE Jotham Russell
- K Chad Ryland
- S A.J. Thomas
- CB Shaun Wade
- WR David Wallis
- TE Mitchell Wilcox
- QB Bailey Zappe
The next order of business for the Patriots is finalizing their 16-man practice squad. Many of the players released could soon return to New England as members of the reserve unit.
