Less than 48 hours after the conclusion of the 2025 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots decided to part ways with six players. Wide receiver JaQuae Jackson, tight end/fullback Giovanni Ricci, center Jake Andrews, defensive tackle Marcus Harris, edge Titus Leo and safety Mark Perry were all let go on Monday.
What do the moves mean for the Patriots, though. Let’s find out.
No surprises
NFL teams parting ways with bottom-of-the-roster players after the draft is something of an annual tradition. In this particular case, the players released did not come as too big a surprise: all of them were long-shots to make the roster in the first place, and had not been able to do enough in their Patriots tenures up to this point to warrant being kept around over the young talent incoming through draft and rookie free agency.
Position battle clarity
While Monday’s six cuts were not unexpected, they do give us a bit of clarity as far as certain position battles are concerned. The two that catch our eye in particular are center and fullback.
Center: A fourth-round draft pick in 2023, Jake Andrews was regarded as a potential heir to veteran David Andrews when he first arrived. He ended up starting one game as a rookie — at guard — before missing all of 2024 with a torn meniscus. Nonetheless, there was a belief he might be getting a chance to compete for a roster spot along the interior with the elder Andrews released earlier this offseason.
The team clearly did not share this belief, especially after selected Jared Wilson 95th overall in the draft. As a result, the center competition will come down to Wilson, Garrett Bradbury, Ben Brown, and potentially guard/center hybrid Cole Strange.
Fullback: The Patriots did not have a true fullback on their roster since letting Jakob Johnson leave in 2022, but the return of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels means the position might be brought back again. The team signing Giovanni Ricci to a futures deal earlier this offseason appeared to be a sign of things to come, but he is now no longer part of the mix.
Instead, all eyes will be on Brock Lampe and Duane Martin: the former was signed as a rookie free agent, while the latter was invited to a minicamp tryout. One of them — presumably Lampe — entering training camp as New England’s top fullback could happen.
Roster down to 84, for now
With Andrews, Ricci and company all cut, the Patriots are now down to 84 players on their roster, including their 11 unsigned draft picks. This leaves 16 open spots for undrafted rookies to fill.
Here is the kicker, though. According to the Pats Pulpit UDFA Tracker, New England has signed 17 rookie free agents. Something’s got to give: either one of those 17 pickups turns out to be a minicamp invite after all — there are three of those on the list as well — or another veteran cut will follow in the relatively near future.
Minor salary cap impact
Of the six players released on Monday, only two were currently part of the Patriots’ salary cap calculations: Andrews and Ricci were on the Top 51 list; Jackson, Harris, Leo and Perry were not. The cap impact of the releases is therefore marginal.
In total and considering that two new players — cornerbacks Alex Austin and Marcellas Dial Jr. — will now move into the Top 51 group, the Patriots absorbed a net loss of $115.118: with Jake Andrews’ entire signing bonus proration hitting the books, the cost associated with the cuts slightly outweighs the gains.
The Patriots, of course, have plenty of resources available still and can more than absorb such minor losses. Before signing any draft picks or rookie free agents, they have $67.5 million available — most in the NFL by far.
