Patriots rookie Dustin Woodard retires

A couple more roster spots have opened up on the Patriots.

Patriots rookie center Dustin Woodard has retired. The seventh-round pick from Memphis reportedly lost the desire to keep playing football.

The Patriots drafted Woodard 230th overall and he came to New England with plenty of experience. He started 52 of 54 games at Memphis, playing left guard, right guard and center. This year, Woodard was competing for the top backup center role behind David Andrews. Since the [...]

A couple more roster spots have opened up on the Patriots.

Patriots rookie center Dustin Woodard has retired. The seventh-round pick from Memphis reportedly lost the desire to keep playing football.

The Patriots drafted Woodard 230th overall and he came to New England with plenty of experience. He started 52 of 54 games at Memphis, playing left guard, right guard and center. This year, Woodard was competing for the top backup center role behind David Andrews. Since the Patriots lost Ted Karras in free agency, they do have a hole to fill.

Woodard’s retirement is likely tied into the reason why the Patriots signed center Tyler Gauthier this week. Gauthier was with the Patriots last offseason. He spent some time in New England on the practice squad before being signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars 53-man roster. He was released by Jacksonville this summer and now has a chance to make the Patriots as the top backup center.

On top of that, the Pats are also releasing defensive lineman Nick Coe. The two roster moves mean the Patriots now have four spots to fill on their 80-man roster.

Coe was one of the Patriots most highly regarded undrafted free agents. In 2018, Coe had seven sacks and 13.5 tackles as a sophomore. At one point, he was a projected first-round pick. However, last year he struggled and finished with 15 tackles and no sacks before declaring for the draft.

mdaniels@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @MarkDanielsPJ