Patriots Finalize Initial 53-Man Roster, Cut 27 Players, Trade Two

The New England Patriots finished their 53-man roster Saturday afternoon, and cut off 27 players.

Tight end Stephen Anderson, tight end Andrew Beck, wide receiver Braxton Berrios, running back Nick Brossette, offensive lineman Cole Croston, wide receiver Ryan Davis, offensive lineman James Ferentz, linebacker Terez Hall, defensive end Trent Harris, safety A.J. Howard, quarterback Brian Hoyer, offensive lineman Martez Ivey, offensive lineman Tyler Gauthier, fullback Jakob Johnson, defensive lineman Ufomba Kamalu, offensive tackle Cedrick Lang, linebacker Calvin Munson, defensive tackle David Parry, wide receiver Damoun Patterson, linebacker Christian Sam, tight end Eric Saubert, offensive tackle Dan Skipper, offensive linman Tyree St. Louis, wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, defensive tackle Nick Thurman, cornerback Ken Webster and linebacker Scooby Wright are now out.

The team traded cornerbacks Duke Dawson to the Denver Broncos and Keion Crossen to the Houston Texans. Center David Andrews, edge rusher Derek Rivers, offensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt and safety Malik Gant ended up on injured reserve.

Wide receiver Cameron Meredith will start off the regular season on the PUP list. Offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste will stay on NFI list. Both players will be able to return for Week 7.

Wide receiver Gunner Olszewski, linebacker Elandon Roberts, defensive end Deatrich Wise, outside linebacker Shilique Calhoun and safety Obi Melifonwu made the cut.

We don’t know if the Patriots will play the first game with this roster. They added four players last season.

It’s interesting how the Patriots decided to go with their rookie quarterback instead of Hoyer. He was a backup quarterback for Tom Brady, but it looks like head coach Bill Belichick was satisfied how rookie Jarrett Stidham accepted the role.

“I love Brian Hoyer,” said Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. “Brian has been great for us. He’s great for Tom. He’s done a nice job in the preseason, obviously. Brian knows our system, knows how to operate and function within the things we do, throws the ball well and is an extremely hard worker. Really smart, great teammate and as good a leader as (any) backup quarterback that I’ve been around. … He makes the guys around him better.”