Henry Poggi

Patriots Make Roster Cuts

The Patriots are the latest team to move to 53 players by making the following transactions:

Placed on injured reserve:

Cut:

New England kept only three true wide receivers on its initial roster, meaning the club will almost surely be searching for more options on the waiver wire.

Patriots Release WR Jordan Matthews

The Patriots announced that they’ve released wide receiver Jordan Matthews and signed fullback Henry Poggi. Although Field Yates of ESPN.com tweeted New England would placed Matthews on injured reserve, it appears the Patriots have simply cut the wideout.

The Pats signed Matthews to a one-year deal worth $1MM back in April. However, the pact was only partially guaranteed, so the Patriots won’t be left on the hook for much. Matthews collected on his $80K signing bonus, $130K offseason workout bonus, and $90K of his base salary, so he leaves New England with $300K altogether.

Matthews was also held back by injuries in 2017, so this is an unfortunate setback for the wide receiver. Prior to that, Matthews averaged 75 receptions for 891 yards and six touchdowns per season for the Eagles from 2014-16.

The release of Matthews leaves the Patriots a bit thin at wide receiver. They’ll be without Julian Edelman for the first four games of the season and the availability of Kenny Britt and Malcolm Mitchell is in question as they deal with ailments of their own. These issues could help to explain the team’s recent interest in free agent Eric Decker.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/7/18

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Baltimore Ravens

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Signed: C Tejan Koroma

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

Seattle Seahawks