Here’s a way-too-early Patriots’ 53-man roster projection
Mike Vrabel has a number of difficult decisions ahead of him to trim the roster for 2025.
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COMMENTARY
Mike Vrabel, Eliot Wolf and the Patriots front office had one of their most successful draft grades in recent memory. But after adding 11 players in the 2025 NFL Draft and a number of undrafted free agents, New England has some difficult decisions ahead of them come training camp.
Of course, there won’t be full clarity of what the Patriots roster will look like until the end of camp, when Vrabel and Co. see what each player looks like in practice and preseason. But as its initial 90-man roster is just about polished off, its easy to imagine what players might be on the way out, and which ones could soar up the depth chart.
There are many ways to construct a 53-man roster that could alter projections, but for this thought experiment we’re breaking it down by the following: quarterbacks (2), halfbacks (3), fullback (1), tight end (3), wide receivers (6), offensive line (10), defensive line (8), linebackers (6), corner backs (6), safeties (5), kicker (1), punter (1), long snapper (1).
Based on those parameters, here’s a snapshot of what the Patriots’ 53-man roster could look like following training camp:
Quarterback
Safe: Drake Maye, Josh Dobbs
Practice squad: Ben Wooldridge
No explanation needed. Maye is the future of the franchise, Dobbs is a very capable backup, and there’s no need to burn a valuable roster spot on Wooldridge Week 1. He can land on the practice squad and serve as the Patriots’ emergency quarterback if necessary.
Halfback
Safe: Rhamondre Stevenson, TreVeyon Henderson, Lan Larison
Cut: Antonio Gibson
Practice Squad: Terrell Jennings
Stay with us here. From a talent standpoint, there’s no doubt Gibson should make the 53-man roster. And if he’s willing to step aside and play a slightly decreased role as the effective third back, he absolutely will remain with New England this season.
However, would he be open to that? Gibson was a 1,000-yard rusher in 2021, and although that number has become an outlier in his career trajectory, he still proved last season that he’s capable of being a team’s No. 2 back. And if he can’t be that with the Patriots, it might make sense to cut him loose and let him try for the role elsewhere. Especially if Lan Larison has a strong camp.
Cutting Gibson would merely be a showing of respect between Vrabel and Gibson now that Henderson is in the picture.
Fullback
Safe: Brock Lampe
Fullbacks don’t often get drafted, so Lampe found his way to Foxborough as a UDFA. However, he’s a proven force in the run game, and Josh McDaniels’s offense runs better with a strong fullback paving the way (see: Develin, James). Lampe should nearly be a lock to make the 53-man roster unless McDaniels is considering a scheme change, or creatively using a non-fullback to fill that role.
Tight End
Safe: Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, CJ Dippre
Cut: Jaheim Bell, Jack Westover
Practice Squad: Gee Scott Jr.
Henry and Hooper are an ideal pairing for McDaniels as both are capable in the run game and both possess steady hands. Dippre has the ideal frame for an NFL tight end (6-foot-5, 262 pounds) and the most potential to threaten as a third tight end and special teamer.
Wide Receiver
Safe: Stefon Diggs, Kyle Williams, DeMario Douglas, Mack Hollins, Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker
Seriously threatening: Efton Chism
Cut: Kendrick Bourne, Kayshon Boutte, John Jiles
Practice Squad: DeMeer Blankumsee, Efton Chism
There’s a ton to unpack here and lots of moving parts, especially if Diggs isn’t healthy enough to play Week 1. But let’s say he is, because no matter how long they get to kick the can down the road, eventually this receiver room will include Diggs.
It’s likely that Boutte doesn’t make it out of camp simply because the Patriots know what they have in him. He can be a serviceable depth receiver, but he isn’t going to crack the starting lineup in any capacity this season. And with so many unknowns in the room (Polk, Baker, Chism, Blankumsee), New England may be better off filling his spot with one or multiple of those players to see what they can become.
The same argument can be made for Bourne, and he’s viewed as a cut in this projection as well. However, his familiarity with the McDaniels offense might make him more valuable to keep.
In any case, it looks to be Bourne, Chism and Baker competing for the sixth spot in the room, and Baker is tentatively slotted into that spot, with Chism landing on the practice squad. But Baker — and Polk too, for that matter — need a strong training camp in oder to keep Bourne and Chism away.
Offensive line
Safe: Will Campbell, Marcus Bryant, Cole Strange, Layden Robinson, Garrett Bradbury, Jared Wilson, Mike Onwenu, Wes Schweister, Morgan Moses, Caedan Wallace
Cut: Vederian Lowe, Sidy Sow, Demontrey Jacobs, Tyrese Robinson
Practice Squad: Jack Conley, Ben Brown, Cole Birdow
The Patriots’ stellar drafting and free agent moves have made this group a lot easier to decipher compared to 2024.
Campbell and Bryant make up the two-deep at left tackle, leaving no place for Lowe. Strange and Robinson should have a strong competition at left guard. Same goes for Bradbury and Wilson at center. Mike Onwenu is the clear-cut starter at right guard, and Schweister is a capable veteran backup there. And Morgan Moses gets to play out what could be his last season at right tackle, while passing knowledge onto Wallace, who should take the reigns in 2026.
All in all, that’s a strong grouping.
Defensive line
Safe: Keion White, Bradyn Swinson, Milton Williams, Christian Barmore, Joshua Farmer, Khyiris Tonga, Harold Landry, K’Lavon Chaison
Cut: Truman Jones, Wilfried Pene, Eric Johnson, Bryce Ganious
Practice Squad: Jaquelin Roy, Jeremiah Pharms, Elijah Ponder
Part of this is dependant on how Vrabel and Williams view Landry fitting into the defense. But, his best work in his career has come lined up on the edge, and since Williams and Vrabel ran a 4-3 the last time they were together, Landry seems better categorized as a defensive end rather than linebacker.
With that said, this group of eight has four solid starters (White, Williams, Barmore, Landry), and plenty of rotational capabilities with Swinson, Chaison, and Farmer in particular. If Swinson has a good enough camp, it’s possible Vrabel would move Landry into more of a true linebacker role to give the rookie a heavier workload.
Linebackers
Safe: Robert Spillane, Jack Gibbens, Christian Ellis, Anfernee Jennings, Monty Rice, Isaiah Simmons*
Cut: Jahlani Tavai
Practice Squad: Cam Riley
Projecting roster additions is difficult to balance when you’re already cutting down this many players. However, New England’s thinnest group right now is linebacker.
The top three here (Gibbens, Spillane, Elliss) are solid. But there’s simply not a whole lot of competition in this group, which Vrabel stated he wanted to achieve through the draft.
So, bringing in a guy like Simmons, a fast linebacker that hasn’t lived up to his potential yet, might make sense. He’ll be a relatively cheap addition, can be cut if it doesn’t work out, or be a helpful piece to add depth to a position that lacks it. If the Patriots were going to add at any position group post-draft, it should be at linebacker.
Corner backs
Safe: Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Marcus Jones, Alex Austin, Kobee Minor, Isaiah Bolden
Cut: Brandon Crossley, DJ James, Jordan Polk
Practice Squad: Miles Battle, Marcellas Dial
Completely opposite from the linebacker group, corner back is one of New England’s deepest positions. The top four seem fairly obvious; Gonzalez and Davis are a strong pairing as every down guys, Jones is the ideal slot corner for nickel packages, and Austin can plug in anywhere for relief.
After those four, the final one or two spots should be very competitive. Minor, Bolden and Dial are seemingly the strongest three candidates to fill out the depth chart, but that will be an interesting group to watch this preseason.
Safeties
Safe: Jabrill Peppers, Kyle Dugger, Brenden Schooler, Marcus Epps, Craig Woodson
Cut: Jaylinn Hawkins, Marte Mapu, Dell Pettus
Practice Squad: Josh Minkins
The Patriots will no doubt have trouble determining the five that make it out of this group. Hawkins is a projected cut here, but could easily make the final roster. He showed his athleticism in 2024 and embraced special teams as well.
However, this group is incredibly difficult to crack. Assuming Peppers and Dugger are still the leaders at the position, their spots appear relatively safe. Schooler is a Pro Bowl and All-Pro special teams stalwart, so he needs a spot too. And Woodson was thought highly enough by New England to be drafted well ahead of his consensus big board ranking. If they think that highly of him, they’re probably willing to roster him.
That leaves Epps and Hawkins to fight for the final safety spot, and that might as well be a coin flip. Epps takes the edge in this projection.
Special Teams
Safe: Andres Borregales, Bryce Barringer, Julian Ashby
Cut: John Parker Jomo
New England already made its decision regarding long snapper duties, cutting veteran Joe Cardona following the draft. Parker Romo will likely be on the preseason roster to give Borregales some competition, but he won’t last long assuming Borregales translates his stellar kicking game to the NFL level.
Practice Squad
Teams are allotted up to 17 practice squad spots, and we’ve filled 15 of those with players that aren’t likely to sign elsewhere once they’re cut from the Patriots’ final roster. That leaves two spots vacant to sign other players outside the organization to practice squad deals.
Here is the projected practice squad post-cuts:
- Cole Birdow, G
- Ben Brown, C
- Jack Conley, G/T
- Gee Scott, TE
- Ben Wooldridge, QB
- Terrell Jennings, HB
- DeMeer Blankumsee, WR
- Efton Chism, WR
- Miles Battle, CB
- Marcellas Dial, CB
- Josh Minkins, S
- Cam Riley, LB
- Elijah Ponder, DL
- Jeremiah Pharms, DT
- Jaquelin Roy, DT
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