Patriots Release Nate Washington
The Patriots are set to release Nate Washington, according to Tom E. Curran of CSNNE (on Twitter). Washington, 33 on Sunday, signed on with the Patriots in late March. 
In 2015, his first and only season as a Texan, Washington played in 14 games, grabbing 47 balls for 658 yards and four touchdowns. The veteran spent a season in Bill O’Brien‘s offense in Houston and it he was expected to have an easy time transitioning to the Pats, O’Brien’s old team.
Washington first entered the league with the Steelers as a UDFA from D-II Tiffin University. In his second year with the Steelers, Washington broke out in the flanker role, hauling in 35 catches for 624 yards and four touchdowns. A few years later, Washington signed a lucrative free agent deal with the Titans and played out the entire six-year contract.
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Patriots To Release C Bryan Stork
The Patriots will release center Bryan Stork today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
Stork, 25 (26 in November), emerged as the Patriots’ starting center just four weeks into his rookie season in 2014, and finished the year there. Pro Football Focus’ grades suggested that Stork’s performance was somewhat up and down, but most of his worst performances came during the first half of the season. In 2015, Stork suffered a concussion which limited him to just eight games.
This year, Stork was expected to serve as a backup to David Andrews at center while also potentially contributing at tackle if needed. However, his release doesn’t come as a huge surprise since there was word that the team preferred the consistency of Josh Kline and Ted Karras. Stork will now try to hook on with another team before the start of the season.
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Patriots' Jabaal Sheard Injured
- Patriots defensive end Jabaal Sheard has been dealing with a sprained MCL, according to a source who spoke with Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. Luckily, the injury is not overly serious and Sheard has been given a recovery timetable of 2-4 weeks, though some MCL sprains need 4-6 weeks to heal up. In the wake of the Chandler Jones trade and Rob Ninkovich‘s triceps injury, the Pats are banking on big production from Sheard.
Patriots Release Donald Brown
The Patriots have released running back Donald Brown with an injury settlement, according to a source who spoke with Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. Brown hasn’t practiced for three weeks due to an undisclosed injury. 
As Howe notes, Brown was working with first team earlier this summer and he figured to be a big part of the Pats’ plans. Instead, he’ll be looking for employment elsewhere once he resumes being healthy. The Pats are now left with LeGarrette Blount, James White, Brandon Bolden, Tyler Gaffney, D.J. Foster, and Joey Iosefa at running back. Blount, White, and Bolden are expected to make the roster while Gaffney is probably the frontrunner for the fourth RB spot.
Although he made a handful of starts during his two years with the Chargers, particularly when the club’s backfield was hit hard by injuries, Brown never made a significant impact. In total, he accumulated 452 rushing yards on 144 attempts (3.1 ypc), and added 299 receiving yards on 37 catches.
The Patriots also released defensive tackle Frank Kearse.
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Patriots Release E.J. Biggers
The Patriots have released cornerback E.J. Biggers, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Biggers signed a one-year, minimum salary benefit contract with the Pats in March. The deal featured just $25K in guaranteed money, in the form of a signing bonus. 
[RELATED: Patriots Release TE Bear Pascoe]
Biggers, 28, spent three seasons in Tampa Bay and two in Washington before joining the Eagles for the 2015 campaign. Outside of the 2012 season, when he started 12 games for the Bucs, he has been a part-time contributor for most of his NFL career, playing in nickel or dime packages on defense and contributing on special teams as well. In 2015, he recorded 39 tackles and seven passes defended.
Biggers was expected to serve as one of the Pats’ primary backups for corners Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan. Instead, the Pats will use second-round pick Cyrus Jones as the first cornerback off of the bench. Justin Coleman, Jonathan Jones, and Darryl Roberts are jostling for spots on the roster behind Jones and their odds all just improved today.
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Patriots Waive V'Angelo Bentley
- The Buccaneers announced that they have signed tackle Kyler Kerbyson and waived/injured tackle Kelby Johnson. Kerbyson, an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee, was waived by the Patriots earlier this month. The Buccaneers also waived linebacker Cassanova McKinzy.
- The Patriots have waived rookie cornerback V’Angelo Bentley, per a team announcement.
Patriots Release TE Bear Pascoe
The Patriots have released tight end Bear Pascoe, a source tells Mark Daniels of The Providence Journal (on Twitter). New England signed the blocking tight end late last month. 
[RELATED: Why The Patriots Could Try To Claim RB Karlos Williams]
Pascoe, 30, spent five seasons with the Giants before joining the Falcons in 2014. Last year, Pascoe was out of the NFL until he hooked on with the Lions in December on 2015. A sixth-round pick of the 49ers in 2009, Pascoe has totaled 40 receptions and two touchdowns in the NFL.
The Patriots already seem to have a full group at tight end with Rob Gronkowski, Martellus Bennett, A.J. Derby, and Clay Harbor. In recent weeks, Derby seems to have leapfrogged Harbor and he may join Pascoe in free agency soon.
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Patriots Notes: Vollmer, Fleming, Stork
Sebastian Vollmer approached the Patriots about a contract extension in November, and they declined, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald tweets. Of course, Vollmer’s injury problems were part of the reason why the Pats were reluctant to commit to him on a new multi-year deal. Over the weekend, the Pats learned that the offensive tackle is headed to IR with an undisclosed ailment, so they’re probably glad that they do not have him under contract beyond the 2016 season.
Here’s more on the Pats:
- The Patriots could begin the season with just three offensive tackles and stash Cameron Fleming on the practice squad, Doug Kyed of NESN.com tweets. Center Bryan Stork and guard Joe Thuney can serve as emergency options if the team needs help at tackle, Kyed notes. For a full view of the Patriots’ depth chart, check out their page on Roster Resource.
- Meanwhile, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe doesn’t see Stork making the 53-man roster. He reasons that Stork appears to be losing the center battle with Andrews and he hasn’t been as consistent from a performance or injury standpoint as Josh Kline or Ted Karras. However, if Jonathan Cooper‘s foot injury lands him on IR-DTR, that could save Stork’s spot.
- Offseason pickups running back Donald Brown, tight end Clay Harbor, wide receiver Keshawn Martin, and defensive tackles Terrance Knighton and Markus Kuhn are fighting for their jobs, Howe writes. Some of these players have significant signing bonuses, meaning that the Pats will have effectively wasted that money if they don’t make the team.
- Could the Patriots make a play for the recently-waived Karlos Williams? The Pats are one of ten teams that we feel could have interest.
10 Teams That Could Claim RB Karlos Williams
After waiving him yesterday, the Bills “fully expect” another NFL club to land running back Karlos Williams, and we’ll find out tomorrow if any other team decided to place a claim (the waiver period is typically 24 hours, but rolls over until Monday on weekends). If no one else is interested, Williams will become a free agent. But given that Williams’ (minimal) signing bonus will accelerate onto Buffalo’s cap –meaning that any acquiring team would only be on the hook for minimum salaries for the next three years — it seems likely that Williams will get claimed.
Clearly, there are reasons to be concerned about Williams’ future. He’ll be suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season after violating the league’s substance abuse policy, and he’s struggled with his weight throughout the offseason. At one point, Williams was up 261 pounds, and after losing some of that heft, he’d reportedly begun to balloon once again, leaving the Bills to wonder if he was serious about football.
But Williams also flashed dynamic ability during his rookie season, finishing with 613 yards from scrimmage and nine TDs on just 104 touches while averaging 5.6 yards per carry. The 23-year-old also became one of just two players in NFL history to score a touchdown in each of his first six games in the league. All in all, Williams seemingly defines an old adage: high risk, high reward.
Let’s take a look at several teams that could be interested in Williams, listed in order of their waiver priority:
Cleveland Browns — New head coach Hue Jackson is trying to foster a new culture with the Browns, but he’s also shown a willingness to give players a second chance. He’s embraced wide receiver Josh Gordon, who was recently reinstated from a season-long suspension, and he stood by running back Isaiah Crowell after the latter posted a disturbing image online. Crowell and Duke Johnson figure to get most of the run for Cleveland during the upcoming season, but the club should be stockpiling talent during its rebuild, and Williams would be a cheap upgrade.
San Diego Chargers — San Diego had high hopes for its rushing attack after trading up to select Melvin Gordon in the first round of last year’s draft, but offensive line injuries and Gordon’s own poor play led to the Chargers finishing 31st in rushing DVOA. Gordon then had microfracture surgery in January, and while his long-term prognosis is positive, serious knee injuries are always unwelcome news for young running backs. It looks like Gordon is already losing work to Danny Woodhead during the preseason, and if the Chargers think Gordon is in for another sub-par season, they could take a risk on Williams.
Baltimore Ravens — This is only my speculation, but given that he’s on the wrong side of 30, coming off injury, and due a non-guaranteed $3MM base salary, veteran running back Justin Forsett could be a surprise cut as roster cutdowns approach. Such a move would be made much easier if the Ravens were able to acquire a talent like Williams, who could slot in the backfield after his suspension, teaming with Javorius Allen, Terrance West, Kenneth Dixon, and perhaps Lorenzo Taliaferro. Baltimore has taken chances on character risks in the past, though the club was burned by safety Will Hill, with whom they cut ties after he was handed a 10-game suspension.
Philadelphia Eagles — Like the Browns, the Eagles haven’t been afraid to collect players who are considered character risks, as evidenced by their trade for receiver Dorial Green-Beckham last week. Philadelphia is hoping it can turn around the career of DGB, who struggled with both motivation and learning the Titans’ playbook, and they could place a similar bet on Williams. Like DGB, Williams clearly has talent, and the Eagles could use another option alongside Ryan Mathews, Kenjon Barner, Darren Sproles, and Wendell Smallwood. Turron Davenport of USA Today recently looked at how Williams could succeed in the type of outside zone runs employed by the Eagles.
Patriots Cut Cedric Thompson
- The Patriots have waived safety Cedric Thompson, as his agent David Canter tweets. New England signed Thompson to a futures deal in January.