Patriots Release RB Lamar Miller
Lamar Miller‘s stint with the Patriots has come to an end, at least temporarily. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that New England has cut the veteran running back.
However, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com notes on Twitter, the Patriots fully guaranteed $200K of Miller’s base salary. Therefore, it “wouldn’t be a surprise” to see Miller return to New England, especially if the team were to suffer an injury at running back.
Miller signed a one-year deal with the Patriots last month. It was only a year ago that the 29-year-old tore his ACL in a preseason contest while playing for the Texans. Reports at the time of the signing indicated that Miller was fully recovered, and Pelissero notes in his tweet that the veteran is “healthy.”
If that’s true, then Miller could end up being a great grab for an RB-needy team. He earned a Pro Bowl nod during his last healthy season, rushing for five scores and 973 yards on 210 carries (4.6 yards per carry) with the Texans. He also added 25 receptions for 163 receiving yards and one touchdown during that 2018 campaign.
The Patriots have a propensity for adding veteran players to see if they’ve got anything left in the tank, but Miller wasn’t necessarily expected to just stick around for camp. Rather, it was thought that he’d play a rotational role with New England. Ultimately, the team seems content to move forward with their current grouping of Damien Harris, Sony Michel, James White, and Rex Burkhead.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/3/20
Here are Thursday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:
Atlanta Falcons
- Released from IR via injury settlement: TE Khari Lee
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: RB Antonio Williams
Carolina Panthers
- Placed on IR: WR Tommylee Lewis
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: T O’Shea Dugas, LB Brady Sheldon and DE Bryce Sterk
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: S J.T. Hassell, CB Donnie Lewis, WR J’Mon Moore, DT Ricky Walker
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived: WR Artavis Scott
New England Patriots
- Waived: CB Michael Jackson
- Waived/injured: DT Michael Barnett
Philadelphia Eagles
- Placed on IR: T Andre Dillard
- Waived: DB Grayland Arnold, WR Manasseh Bailey, WR Deontay Burnett, WR Travis Fulgham, G Julian Good-Jones, WR Marcus Green, RB Elijah Holyfield, C Luke Juriga, RB Adrian Killins, DB Elijah Riley, TE Tyrone Swoopes, RB Michael Warren
San Francisco 49ers
- Released: CB Jamar Taylor
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DE Damontre Moore
- Waived: WR Seth Dawkins, DE Pita Taumoepenu
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Released: DT Kyle Love
Patriots Name Cam Newton Starting QB
No surprises here, but the Patriots have named Cam Newton their starting quarterback, as Jim McBride of the Boston Globe was first to report. Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald adds that Newton has been voted a team captain (Twitter link).
For a long time after Tom Brady‘s abdication, New England insisted that it was comfortable moving forward with second-year pro Jarrett Stidham as its starting signal-caller. But the team managed to sign Newton for peanuts at the end of June, and as soon as that happened, the 2015 MVP became the odds-on favorite to succeed Brady as the Patriots’ QB1.
Newton has undergone three surgeries since the beginning of the 2017 offseason — two shoulder procedures and a foot operation — and he has missed 16 of the last 18 games. His 2019 season was almost completely wiped out by injury, but he looked like his usual brilliant self through the first 12 weeks of the 2018 campaign, and he ended that year having completed a career-best 67.9% of his throws for 3,395 yards, 24 TDs, and 13 picks. He also showed that he can still make plays with his feet – he tallied 488 rushing yards and four scores on 101 carries.
The most recent reports out of training camp suggested that Newton has not been perfect in practices, but he has been plenty good enough to beat out Stidham — who has been dealing with a hip injury — and Brian Hoyer. And he clearly has ingratiated himself with his new teammates, as evidenced by his captaincy.
Things will feel very different in Foxborough this year without Brady, but between Newton and the Pats’ defense, New England may not be ready to give up its stranglehold on the AFC East just yet.
Patriots Release Mohamed Sanu
Mohamed Sanu‘s stint with the Patriots has already come to an end. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that New England has released the veteran wideout.
The move comes as a bit of a surprise; it was less than a year ago that the Patriots sent a second-rounder to Atlanta for the receiver. However, the 31-year-old underwhelmed during his eight regular season games (six starts) with New England, hauling in 26 receptions (on 47 targets) for 207 yards and one score. He was also invisible during the Patriots’ playoff loss to the Titans, as he caught a single 11-yard pass.
Sanu landed on PUP to start camp in early August, and reports have indicated that he’s been a step slow throughout the month. Ultimately, the Patriots decided to just move on from the veteran, clearing the team $6.5MM in cap space.
There are plenty of receiver-needy teams throughout the NFL, so it shouldn’t take Sanu very long to find another gig. Plus, he’s only a season removed from a 2018 campaign where he finished with a career-high 838 receiving yards to go along with 66 receptions and four touchdowns.
While the Patriots offense was already going to look a whole lot different in 2020 with Cam Newton at the helm, it was still assumed that Sanu would lead the depth chart along with Julian Edelman. Now, the team will see what they can get from former first-rounder N’Keal Harry, as well as the likes of Damiere Byrd, Gunner Olszewski, and Devin Ross.
Patriots Interested In Leonard Fournette
Leonard Fournette cleared waivers Tuesday and has at least one suitor as a free agent. The Patriots have expressed interest in the former No. 4 overall pick, Jeff Howe of The Athletic tweets.
The Pats saw 2018 first-rounder Sony Michel miss time again during training camp, and although recent signing Lamar Miller has been cleared and 2019 third-round pick Damien Harris has impressed, New England’s backfield is somewhat muddled as the regular season approaches.
Despite the Jaguars waiving Fournette, he should garner interest from more than just the Patriots. The LSU product has two 1,000-yard seasons on his resume. He played a key role in helping a Blake Bortles-quarterbacked team to the 2017 AFC championship game, where the Jags narrowly lost to the Patriots.
Last season, Fournette rushed for a career-high 1,152 yards. However, he has only cleared 4.0 yards per carry once in a season (2019) and slumped through an injury- and suspension-marred 2018 slate. Fournette, 25, does not offer much in the passing game, but the Patriots have a veteran passing-down specialist in James White.
New England returns Michel, Rex Burkhead and White from its 2019 rotation but signed Miller last month. Miller is attempting to return from a torn ACL. Neither he nor Michel is eligible to be stashed on the Pats’ reserve/PUP list.
Thus far, however, the Patriots represent Fournette’s only known suitor. The Bears, who are without David Montgomery currently, are not looking to sign him.
Patriots Moving Joejuan Williams To S?
The Patriots appear to be putting their cornerback depth to good use. One of the Pats’ corners, Joejuan Williams, is now attending meetings exclusively as a safety, Michael Giardi of NFL.com tweets. New England’s 2019 second-round pick, Williams only played 80 defensive snaps as a rookie. But the Vanderbilt product was stuck behind the likes of Stephon Gilmore, Jason McCourty and Jonathan Jones. Those three are back in 2020, but the Pats’ safety group looks considerably different.
The team’s longtime Devin McCourty–Patrick Chung–Duron Harmon trio is down to just McCourty, though the Pats did sign former Charger Adrian Phillips and drafted Kyle Dugger in Round 2. Dugger, however, played at a Division II school and has not had much time this offseason for on-field work. At 6-foot-3, 212 pounds, Williams has the size to transition to safety. The Pats frequently used three safeties in coverage over the past several years.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/28/20
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves in this post. In addition to the transactions listed below, note that Broncos DT Joel Heath and Giants CB Shakial Taylor, who had previously been listed as cut, actually opted out of the 2020 season. As Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network tweets, both players were reinstated to their teams’ rosters and placed on the Reserve/Opt-Out List. The full (and final) opt-out tracker can be found here:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: RB Ty’Son Williams
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: CB Brian Allen
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: CB Jameson Houston, DE Austin Larkin
- Waived: DE DaVonte Lambert, CB Cole Luke
New England Patriots
- Signed: WR Andre Baccellia
- Waived: WR Will Hastings
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LB Wynton McManis
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: WR Saeed Blacknall
- Placed on IR: WR Anthony Johnson
- Waived: LB James Lockhart
Patriots Activate Sony Michel From PUP
The Patriots officially activated running back Sony Michel from the PUP list on Wednesday. It’s a promising sign for Michel, who was previously considered questionable for the start of the season. 
Michel underwent foot surgery earlier this year, prompting the Pats to sign Lamar Miller as additional insurance. Michel has undergone surgery in each of the last three offseasons, including knee operations in 2018 and ’19. This was less-than-ideal for the 25-year-old, especially after a so-so season. Michel surpassed 900 rushing yards for the second straight year and led the team in rushing, but he averaged just 3.7 yards per tote, down from 4.5 per carry as a rookie.
Had Michel remained on the PUP list to start the year, he would have been shelved for the first six weeks of the season. Now, he’s set to lead the pack once again, with support from Miller, James White, Rex Burkhead and Damien Harris. Brandon Bolden, meanwhile, will spend 2020 away from the team after opting out.
NFL Workout Updates: 8/24/20
Here are Monday’s notable workouts:
Arizona Cardinals
- LB Devante Bond
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
- LB Darron Lee
Las Vegas Raiders
- LB Sharif Finch, CB KeiVarae Russell
Minnesota Vikings
- LB Bryce Hager
New England Patriots
Pittsburgh Steelers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- WR Greg Dortch, WR Shelton Gibson
Patriots Sign Nick Folk
The Patriots have signed Nick Folk, per a club announcement. The veteran will return to New England and compete with fifth-round rookie Justin Rohrwasser for the kicking job. 
[RELATED: Latest On Cam Newton]
Folk went 14-of-17 on field goal tries for the Pats last year and nailed all 12 of his extra point attempts. The 35-year-old took the field for seven Patriots regular season games, plus the team’s playoff loss to the Titans. Folk has been somewhat in demand lately – the Browns also met with him recently as they consider competition for second-year pro Austin Seibert.
The Patriots also added some defensive line depth by signing Michael Barnett, an undrafted free agent out of Georgia. Both players will make their case in the coming days as we head towards the roster deadline.