New England Patriots final pre-season cuts 2007
New England Patriots have cut the following players to reach the 53 man limit for their 2007 regular season roster:
Larry Anam
Chad Brown
Bam Childress
Chris Dunlap
Mike Elgin
Corey Hilliard
Brian Jones
C.J. Jones
Kelvin Kight
Corey Mays
Garrett Mills
Rashad Moore
Gene Mruczkowski
Clint Oldenburg
Marcellus Rivers
Justin Rogers
Quinton Smith
Vinny Testaverde
Santonio Thomas
Dante Wesley
Zach West
Head coach Bill Belichick really, really didn’t like the talent in the 2007 draft: New England’s first pick, safety Brandon Meriweather survived, and linebacker Oscar Lua, cornerback Mike Richardson, and runningback Justise Hairston will get paid for sitting on the injured reserve list (which bars them from playing in the 2007 season). The rest of the team’s 2007 draft picks have been cut. On the other hand, those were late-round picks that included three offensive linemen, even though the team didn’t need any, one linebacker (who actually played defensive end in college), and one defensive lineman, even though it definitely didn’t need any of those, either [oops, sorry: Defensive lineman Kareem Brown did stick].
I’m surprised Marcellus Rivers (photo top right) was cut because he’s the only Patriots tight-end in the pre-season who could block effectively and consistently. Kyle Brady had better be ready to go, because Ben Watson is not an NFL-grade run-blocking tight end.
Third-string, and seemingly for a brief period of time fourth-string, quarterback Matt Gutierrez wasn’t cut. Congratulations, Gutierrez!
Defensive end Richard Seymour has been placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list, which I think means he won’t contribute for six weeks. Seymour had a sub-par season last year, probably because he was hampered by one or several injuries. How lucky he was to be injury-free in his contract year in 2005.
Below: Offensive linemen Gene Mruczkowski, Mike Elgin, and Clint Oldenburg - all cut today.
