Some tough choices on Patriots’ 53-man roster projection

In an offseason like no other, the Patriots have some tough decisions to make on Saturday’s cut-down day.

Due to Covid-19, there won’t be any preseason games to analyze the Patriots and their new players. Instead, the team held an action-packed training camp that gave us some idea of what this team might look like come Week 1.

There’s also an impressive streak at stake this weekend.

The Patriots enter 2020 with an undrafted player making their [...]

In an offseason like no other, the Patriots have some tough decisions to make on Saturday’s cut-down day.

Due to Covid-19, there won’t be any preseason games to analyze the Patriots and their new players. Instead, the team held an action-packed training camp that gave us some idea of what this team might look like come Week 1.

There’s also an impressive streak at stake this weekend.

The Patriots enter 2020 with an undrafted player making their initial roster every season for 16 years straight. In our Patriots 53-man roster projection, we don’t have many surprise cuts, but we didn’t put a single undrafted player on the team.

Here’s the breakdown:

Quarterback

Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham, Brian Hoyer

Cut: Brian Lewerke

Newton looks like the guy after a solid training camp. He emerged from the pack after Day 4 of camp. This year’s Patriots offense will look a lot different without Tom Brady, but Newton gives the team some interesting options with his athleticism. Overall, it was a disappointing summer for Stidham, who didn’t stay healthy during the quarterback competition.

Wide Receiver

Julian Edelman, N’Keal Harry, Gunner Olszewski, Damiere Byrd, Jakobi Meyers

Cut: Mohamed Sanu, Devin Ross, Jeff Thomas, Isaiah Zuber, Andre Baccellia

The Patriots made Sanu a surprise cut already. That could be good news for Meyers, who got off to a slow start in camp due to an injury. Ross also had a solid summer, but he too missed some time. Thomas has great athleticism, but he also got off to a slow start due to health reasons.

Running back

Damien Harris, Sony Michel, Rex Burkhead, James White, Lamar Miller

Cut: J.J. Taylor

The Patriots have some health concerns here. Michel had offseason foot surgery and Miller missed last year with a knee injury. Harris reportedly had surgery on his pinky finger and will be out for weeks. We don’t know what Miller has left in the tank, but it’s worth taking a flyer on the 2018 Pro Bowler.

Tight end

Devin Asiasi, Dalton Keene, Ryan Izzo, Jakob Johnson (fullback)

Cut: Jake Burt, Paul Butler, Paul Quessenberry

This group could use a veteran, but instead, they’re handing the reins off to two rookies and a third-year veteran with limited experience. Asiasi looked solid in camp before an ankle injured slowed his progress. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he led Patriots tight ends in receiving yards this season.

Offensive line

Isaiah Wynn, Joe Thuney, David Andrews, Shaq Mason, Jermaine Eluemunor, Yodney Cajuste, Hjalte Froholdt, Mike Onwenu, Justin Herron

Cut: Korey Cunningham, Tyler Gauthier, Ben Braden

The Patriots need more depth at tackle. Losing Marcus Cannon (opt out) hurt and we’d rather keep younger players like Cajuste, Onwneu and Herron on the roster over Cunningham. Look for the Patriots to add to this position before their first game. They really could use a veteran backup.

Defensive line

Lawrence Guy, Adam Butler, Deatrich Wise, Byron Cowart

Cut: Nick Thurman, Bill Murray, Xavier Williams, Michael Barnett, Rashod Berry / IR: Beau Allen

Allen was expected to replace Danny Shelton, but a lower body injury kept him out of camp. We project him to end up on the injured reserve. Guy, Butler, Wise and Cowart all had solid moments this summer. If you’re looking for one surprise here, Williams could make the team to add more depth at defensive tackle.

Linebacker

Ja’Whaun Bentley, John Simon, Chase Winovich, Cassh Maluia, Josh Uche, Anfernee Jennings, Shilique Calhoun, Derek Rivers

Cut: Brandon Copeland, Tashawn Bower, Terez Hall, Scoota Harris / PUP: Brandon King

We’re grouping outside and inside linebackers here. It wasn’t easy to cut Copeland and he was the last person off this roster. The Patriots have a youth movement at this position and Uche and Jennings look like they have bright futures. Look for Bentley to become the leader of this group.

Cornerback

Stephon Gilmore, JC Jackson, Jason McCourty, Jonathan Jones, Justin Bethel

Cut: Michael Jackson, Myles Bryant, D’Angelo Ross

If one undrafted free agent should make this team, we’d pick Bryant. The slot corner had a good camp. We left him out due to the depth at this position, which happens to be the Patriots strongest depth chart. With Gilmore, Jackson, McCourty and Jones, the Pats have some of the best corner depth in the NFL.

Safety

Devin McCourty, Kyle Dugger, Terrence Brooks, Cody Davis, Adrian Phillips, Joejuan Williams

This positive will be interesting come Saturday. It looks like Williams will make the move to safety, but don’t rule out him playing some corner. Will the Patriots keep six safeties? Davis is a core special teamer, but has earned lots of praise. Brooks had a really good camp and Philips has experience.

Special teams

Nick Folk, Jake Bailey, Joe Cardona, Matthew Slater

Cut: Justin Rohrwasser

Rohrwasser had a bad camp. In the last five days of camp, he made 55% of his field goal attempts. Folk made 86%. At this point, Rohrwasser looks like a big swing and miss from the Patriots front office. If he’s cut, don’t be surprised if he lands on the practice squad.

mdaniels@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @MarkDanielsPJ