Patriots To Cut Kony Ealy

Kony Ealy‘s New England stay does not look like it will make it to the six-month mark. The Patriots plan to cut Ealy, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.

Garafolo cited poor scheme-fit issues behind Ealy’s struggles. This will further thin out the Patriots’ defensive end corps, but Ealy wasn’t exactly flourishing to the point he was a surefire rotational player. This comes after New England examined the trade market for a potential deal.

Bill Belichick said before the Pats’ third preseason game on Friday the fourth-year defensive end was progressing, but the team will still pull the plug on the brief experiment.

“The last three weeks, he’s definitely on the upswing,” Belichick said of Ealy, via Mike Reiss (on Twitter). “He’s made solid progress for us.”

Having not yet become a vested veteran, the 25-year-old Ealy will be sent to waivers. This creates an interesting option for teams in need of some edge help.

Ealy joins Rob Ninkovich and third-round pick Derek Rivers in being removed from the 2017 Pats defensive end equation, Ninkovich retiring early in camp and Rivers being shelved by a season-ending injury. The Patriots let Jabaal Sheard and Chris Long walk in free agency. Trey Flowers, Lawrence Guy and fourth-rounder Deatrich Wise are three ends now at the top of the equation for the Patriots.

The Patriots and Panthers swapped draft picks, allowing Carolina to move up a mere eight spots, in the March Ealy deal. Ealy started 15 games for the Panthers over the past two seasons, and the former second-round pick out of Missouri is best known for his dominant outing in Super Bowl 50 when he recorded three sacks and an interception.