Report: Patriots Releasing Obi Melifonwu After Drafting Safety

The New England Patriots have made a few bold moves in the offseason. They have signed and cut some players. James Develin retired. New England is definitely entering the 2020 regular season with a different roster. The team selected Kyle Dugger in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Three days later, the Patriots cut Obi Melifonwu. The information was confirmed by several sources, including ESPN’s Field Yates.

Melifonwu was a second-round pick by the Oakland Raiders in 2017. The Patriots added him in the middle of the 2018 season. He played sparingly and saw action in two games for the team in 2018. The safety didn’t join his teammates in 2019.

Melifonwu measures at 6-foot-3, 224 pounds. At the beginning of the 2019 season, he was part of the Patriots practice squad. In November, Melifonwu was moved to injured reserve.

Obi Melifonwu had to go

The safety had almost no chance to earn a spot on the roster. The Patriots have a nice depth at safety. In other words, the team would have cut him anyways. New England traded Duron Harmon to the Detroit Lions last month. However, they added Adrian Phillips and Cody Davis in free agency. They will join Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung and Terrence Brooks. Malik Gant and Adarius Pickett will have to compete for roster spots. They spent the 2019 season on injured reserve and on the practice squad.

The Patriots needed to free some room on the 90-man roster to ink undrafted free agents. Defensive end Keionta Davis will have to find his home somewhere else.

New England has signed a few players to fill in the voids players made in free agency. Bill Belichick and Nick Caserio made a few bold moves this time, and they risked a lot. But, Belichick always has the perfect plan.

TB12 is gone now, and so is Gronk. Develin will retire. Who is the next to leave the New England Patriots? Will they get rid of some of the key players they have at the moment? Let’s wait and see what happens next in the offseason. Belichick sure has a plan.