The veteran long snapper was let go by the team on Tuesday.
The New England Patriots’ longest-tenured player was handed his walking papers on Tuesday. Joe Cardona, who had served as the team’s long snapper since entering the NFL as a fifth-round draft choice in 2015, was released on Tuesday. After the news of the move broke, former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman took to social media to pay his respects to the 33-year-old:
Joe embodied the Patriot way. He was a great teammate on the field, but even an even better guy off the field. Looking forward to what the next chapter holds for ya, Lieutenant Cardona.
Cardona is the latest veteran to be let go by the club in an apparent effort to rebuild the team’s culture under new head coach Mike Vrabel. Before him, the Patriots already released fellow captains David Andrews and Ja’Whaun Bentley. Meanwhile, neither Jones Jones nor Deatrich Wise Jr. were retained in free agency.