Monty Rice

Patriots Begin Roster Cuts

The deadline for final roster cuts looms, and teams often get a head start on such moves with players known to be on the wrong side of the bubble. In the case of the Patriots, that has resulted in 14 players being let go early.

Head coach Mike Vrabel announced on Friday (h/t Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald) that the following players have been cut:

Each player listed will be eligible to join New England’s practice squad next week, although anyone cut at this time should not be considered a priority (for the Patriots or any other team) in that regard. Wooldridge being let go means that, for the time being, New England only has two quarterbacks on the roster. Drake Maye will of course handle starting duties, but veteran backup Josh Dobbs may not be a roster lock. Especially in the wake of today’s moves, the QB position will be one to watch closely.

A number of relatively recent draft picks are included in the list of players likely moving on. Sow and Bolden were respectively selected in the fourth and seventh rounds in 2023, with Sow handling a first-team role as a rookie. He made only one start last season, however, and was not positioned to serve as a key member of the Patriots’ renovated O-line under Vrabel and his new regime.

Bell joined New England as a seventh-round pick last year. He hardly saw the field on offense but chipped in on special teams. Rice – who logged a 56% third phase snap share during his three Patriots games in 2024 – represents another core special teams presence who will need to be retained via the taxi squad or replaced in the coming days.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/4/25

The last minor moves and standard gameday elevations of the 2024 NFL regular season:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Ross’ new deal to the Texans’ 53-man roster is good through the 2025 season, as well. Ditto for Jones, signed to the active roster in New England today.

Sanders returned to practice this week, and his activation will allow him to close out his second Panthers season on the field rather than on the mend. His Carolina tenure has fallen well short of expectations and a release in the near future could be in the cards. Given the team’s backfield injuries, though, Sanders could handle a notable workload tomorrow while potentially auditioning for free agent suitors.

Gilman’s return will be welcomed by the Chargers’ defense. The 27-year-old has remained a full-time starter this season, his second straight handling first-team duties. Los Angeles is assured of a wild-card spot, but moving up to the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoff picture could be possible on Sunday. In any case, Gilman’s presence will be key for a Bolts defense which leads the league in points allowed per game (17.6).

Gardner’s campaign will come to an end after 15 games played. He fell short of a Pro Bowl nod for this first time in his young career, but the fourth pick of the 2022 draft remained a critical member of the team’s secondary when healthy. Gardner is eligible for an extension this offseason, and his financial future (which will include a fifth-year option decision in the spring) will be a key point of focus once New York’s head coach/general manager tandem is in place.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/27/24

Friday’s minor moves:

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/21/24

Today’s minor transactions and standard gameday practice squad elevations:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

After being activated from injured reserve in early November, Bates only played two games before suffering a concussion. The 27-year-old has not played since Week 11 and will now miss the remainder of the season on IR. Bates is under contract through 2025.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/5/24

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/21/24

Today’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Indianapolis Colts

Minnesota Vikings

Philadelphia Eagles

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 8/29/24

PFR’s practice squad rundown, signaling we are indeed close to games that count, begins Thursday. Here is how teams began to handle their 16-man P-squads.

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Slovis went to camp with the Colts, joining the team as a UDFA this year. Houston placed Case Keenum on IR and released Tim Boyle, who is now the Dolphins’ P-squad QB. Slovis, who played at USC, Pittsburgh and BYU in college, is now the Texans’ de facto third-stringer.

Shelley has 11 career starts — with the Bears and Vikings — on his resume. He joined the Raiders last year but ended up with the Rams, playing in 11 games as a backup. The Giants have spent time searching for a cornerback answer, having not been too satisfied with their Cor’Dale FlottNick McCloud CB2 competition. New York did not make any waiver claims at the position Wednesday.

Reagor, who played for the Patriots last season, is back after being released earlier this week. The former Minnesota first-rounder played in 11 New England games last season, returning a kick for a touchdown. Latu joins the Browns after being a 49ers cut. The 2023 third-round pick missed all of last season with an ACL tear. Jefferson is back with the Bolts hours after being released.

Saints Place RB Kendre Miller On IR, Reduce Squad To 53

Here is how the Saints moved their roster down to the regular-season 53-man limit:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Placed on IR/return designation:

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

A host of vested vets are off the Saints’ roster, and Miller will be for a stretch as well. Miller has been down with a hamstring injury for several weeks, suffering the setback minutes into the team’s initial training camp workout. This lingering into the regular season is a concerning development for both parties. Hamstring trouble limited Miller late last summer as well. The Saints still roster Jamaal Williams behind Alvin Kamara, but they used a third-round pick on Miller last year. The TCU alum logged 41 carries as a rookie, but a new OC (Klint Kubiak) is now calling the shots.

Kpassagnon sustained an Achilles tear early this offseason, and he will miss at least four games. Rookie UDFA Mason Tipton made the roster over St. Brown, while offseason pickup Will Harris secured a spot over Abram. The Saints kept Lucas Patrick and Oli Udoh over Davis and Lemieux, who had been attempting to bounce back from an injury-plagued Giants tenure.

Saints Claim LB Monty Rice

Unable to reclaim a starting job with the Titans this season, Monty Rice landed on waivers Tuesday. The third-year linebacker will not reach free agency. The Saints submitted a successful claim Wednesday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

Rice had played behind free agency addition Azeez Al-Shaair and second-year UDFA Jack Gibbens on the Titans’ defensive second level this season. From 2021-22, however, the former third-round pick made 10 combined starts. He has not logged any this season.

The Saints picked up Rice’s through-2024 rookie contract. No guaranteed money remains on the Round 3 deal, giving the Saints a low-cost opportunity to gauge the Georgia alum’s fit in their defense. The Titans drafted Rice 92nd overall two years ago, doing so after he finished as a 2020 Butkus Award finalist and a first-team All-SEC linebacker. That top-tier college success has not equated to steady playing time just yet.

Injuries to Zach Cunningham and David Long led to increased Rice work last season, when he logged 366 defensive snaps. Rice made 66 tackles (four for loss) last year, and he was expected to be a starter alongside Al-Shaair this season. Gibbens, however, won the job. Both he and Al-Shaair have stayed healthy, keeping Rice in a reserve role. He ended up playing only 86 defensive snaps with Tennessee this season and did not sound particularly broken up about his separation from the AFC South club.

The Saints played Week 13 without Pete Werner, but the young talent managed a limited practice Wednesday. Ageless veteran Demario Davis still anchors New Orleans’ linebacking corps, with 2020 third-rounder Zack Baun also in the picture. No other Saints ‘backer has played more than 50 defensive snaps this season, though Rice’s addition bumps the team’s LB total to seven on the 53-man roster.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/5/23

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

  • Waived from PUP list: LB Drew White

A 2021 third-round pick, Rice started 10 games over his first two seasons. Although the Titans cut Zach Cunningham and let David Long sign with the Dolphins, they brought in Azeez Al-Shaair and have used second-year UDFA Jack Gibbens as starters this season. Rice has been strictly a backup, and a post-transaction tweet suggested the young defender was not too broken up about this Tennessee cut.

Hyder joined the Texans earlier this season. The 49ers had waived the rotational pass rusher after trading for Randy Gregory. Reuniting with DeMeco Ryans, Hyder spent much of his Texans stay on their practice squad. The team used the defensive end in two games this season, giving him 40 defensive snaps as a backup. Hyder would be eligible to return to Houston’s P-squad if he clears waivers.