The Patriots are in the process of turning over their roster.
Ever since Mike Vrabel was hired as their new head coach, the New England Patriots’ roster has undergone a major transformation process — one that has led to some high-profile departures. The latest among those is long snapper Joe Cardona, who was released on Tuesday after 10 years and a combined 173 games with the organization.
Cardona is just one of several veterans to get handed his walking papers over the last few months. Before him, the Patriots also released fellow team captains David Andrews and Ja’Whaun Bentley while also deciding not to retain Deatrich Wise Jr. and Jonathan Jones in free agency.
As a result of those moves, only 10 veterans — i.e. players with more than four years of experience — remain on the Patriots’ roster who signed their current contracts before 2025. Given the apparent willingness to thin out that particular group, the team might not be done either.
So, who might follow Cardona, Andrews and company? Let’s take a look at each of the candidates individually to get a better understanding, split into three groups: no salary cap concerns, salary cap concerns and unrealistic cut candidate.
No salary cap concerns
The players listed here could be let go immediately with comparatively minor cap ramifications. That does not mean they are any more or less likely to be released than others, but their contract situations are more inviting toward such a move.
WR Kendrick Bourne: If we had to rank the 10 players listed here in terms of likelihood of getting cut, Bourne would probably rank No. 1. Not only did the Patriots make some major investments at wide receiver this offseason — including two players projected to play similar roles as him (Stefon Diggs, Kyle Williams) — his contract also would allow for an easy parting of the ways: cutting the 29-year-old right now would create $2.8 million in dead cap but also come with net savings of almost $4 million.
RB Antonio Gibson: The dead money would outweigh the net salary cap gain in Gibson’s case ($3.175M vs. $400k), but that would not prevent the team from letting him go. What might, though, is the current running back depth chart: even with second-round draft pick TreVeyon Henderson now on board and providing a similar profile as Gibson, New England might benefit from keeping the veteran around as a rotational No. 3 at the position.
ED Anfernee Jennings: As is the case with Antonio Gibson, cutting Jennings also would create a higher dead cap charge ($3.35M) than actual net cap savings ($1M). And, once again, that would probably not be a deal-breaker for New England as far as parting ways with the 2020 third-round draft pick. What does work in his favor, though, is the depth chart: while fifth-round draft pick Bradyn Swinson is an intriguing addition, the rest of the group consisting only of K’Lavon Chaisson, Bradyn Swinson and Truman Jones points toward Jennings being relatively safe for now.
Salary cap concerns
The players listed here might make sense as cut candidates as far as their potential roles on the new-look Patriots roster might be concerned, but their contract situations make for a challenging environment. As a result, none of them should be expected to be released in the near future.
S Kyle Dugger: If the Patriots were to release Dugger now, they would take on a massive $23 million dead cap charge and also saw their salary cap space decrease by almost $9 million. The outlook would change after June 1, but only if the Patriots were comfortable essentially borrowing from their 2026 cap in order to finalize a cut: in case of a post-June 1 release, Dugger’s non-2025 signing bonus proration would all hit next year’s cap as dead money, thus spreading out the dead cap hit over two seasons instead of one.
LB Jahlani Tavai: Tavai signed a contract extension last offseason, which in turn makes an outright release at the moment unlikely: if he were to be cut today, the Patriots would absorb a $6.4 million dead money charge while also losing almost $2 million in salary cap space. The outlook changes slightly after June 1, but the situation as a whole is more complicated than might appear to be the case at first glance.
S Jabrill Peppers: Peppers finds himself in a similar contractual situation as Jahlani Tavai and Kyle Dugger, meaning that him getting cut before June 1 seems unlikely; his dead cap charge is $7 million and his net cap space loss is $1.5 million. The chances of a move being made also increase from June on, but that also would mean his dead cap spreading into 2026.
Unrealistic cut candidates
For one reason or another — finances or projected role on the roster — the players listed here getting cut either before or after June 1 seems unrealistic at that point in time.
DT Christian Barmore: Even though he missed most of 2024 following a blood clots diagnosis, the Patriots are optimistic that Barmore will return to the field — and to form — this coming season. He has been an active participant in voluntary offseason workouts, and if healthy projects as a starter up front alongside free agency pickup Milton Williams.
TE Hunter Henry: The Patriots did not add to their tight end group in the draft, meaning that the duo of Hunter Henry and 2025 re-signee Austin Hooper still sits atop the depth chart. That is not expected to change anytime soon, especially given that the two of them built a solid rapport with quarterback Drake Maye since last season.
G Michael Onwenu: The Patriots offensive line is one collective question mark, with one exception: right guard, the spot occupied by Michael Onwenu. The 2020 fifth-round draft pick has proven himself a steady presence up front, and together with Morgan Moses, who was signed in free agency, should help revitalize the right side of New England’s O-line.
RB Rhamondre Stevenson: Stevenson’s fumble issues last season are a concern, but based on the information available it seems New England is willing to continue working with him. The addition of TreVeyon Henderson might impact his outlook beyond 2025, but at the moment Stevenson will not be going anywhere.
Looking at the list of players above, one name stands out above the rest as a potential immediate cut candidate: Kendrick Bourne. The combination of roster composition and contract status makes him more likely to be let go at this time in the process than other players whose current deals were signed before 2025.
That being said, Bourne has played some good football since first joining the Patriots in 2021 and could still provide some value both on and off the field. Keeping him around at least until training camp seems to make sense.
Then again, one would have thought the same applied to Joe Cardona.