The choices were fairly simple for NFL teams after owners and players agreed to a revised collective bargaining agreement to cope with COVID: Either keep your 90-man roster and work in a split-squad setting, or cut your rosters down to 80 and work as a single unit once access to facilities is granted.
The Patriots didn't hesitate in telling the world which option they favored.
On Saturday they released veteran defensive back Lenzy Pipkins. On Sunday they cut ties with nine more players to get down to 80. For Bill Belichick and his staff, avoiding the split-squad working conditions — including the potential scheduling headaches that might arise as a result — was worth axing 10 players who hadn't yet had an opportunity to practice with the team this offseason.
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It'll come as little surprise if clubs follow New England's lead and start whittling down their rosters. For undrafted rookies and journeymen vets this is the harsh reality — harsh but predictable — of the COVID-era NFL.
Those released Sunday included second-year safety Malik Gant, veteran defensive back Adarius Pickett and seven undrafted rookies. Both UDFA quarterbacks J'Mar Smith of Louisiana Tech and Brian Lewerke of Michigan State were cut. Several undrafted rookie receivers were let go: Auburn's Will Hastings, Syracuse's Sean Riley and Mississippi State's Isaiah Zuber. San Diego State linebacker Kyahva Tezino and Louisiana Tech defensive lineman Courtney Wallace were also trimmed from the roster.
Smith was one of the more intriguing members of this year's Patriots undrafted rookie class since he and Lewerke were the only two quarterbacks added on draft weekend.
While Lewerke was the more frequent scrambler in college, Smith's arm, athleticism and ability to throw off-platform made him a fascinating developmental prospect. The addition of Cam Newton, though, gave the Patriots three quarterbacks ahead of the rostered rookies. Reps would be scarce (if not non-existent) and made both Smith and Lewerke logical early-release candidates.
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Another undrafted rookie we spent time analyzing this offseason was Hastings. The slot receiver posted a very impressive pro day at Auburn — one of the few pro days that went off as scheduled this offseason — with eye-popping change-of-direction times. Coming from an SEC program and having some built-in chemistry with college teammate Jarrett Stidham seemed to give Hastings a leg up on other undrafted rookies. Additionally, as an inside receiver he plays a position that the Patriots have been trying to fill for the last handful of seasons. He also has experience as an onside-kick specialist playing for Kevin Kelley at Pulaski Academy in Arkansas. He seemed like the prototypical, more-you-can-do, buy-low Patriots prospect.
But on the same day Hastings indicated on social media that he was headed for Boston, it was announced that he'd been released.
The takeaways? The Patriots still have a large group of wideouts scheduled to hit the ground running when camp begins, led by Julian Edelman, N'Keal Harry, Mohamed Sanu, Damiere Byrd, Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski. Veteran Marqise Lee remains in the fold as does Quincy Adeboyejo and Devin Ross.
Letting Hastings and other undrafted pass-catchers go would seem to be a good sign for players like Adeboyejo and Ross, whose experience in the league — it's Adeboyejo's fourth year in the league and Ross' third — likely helped them stick. Hastings' release might also be an indicator that between Edelman, Sanu, Meyers and Olszewski the slot spot is one they don't feel is as great a need as it was when they pursued players like Adam Humphries and Cole Beasley as free agents a year ago.
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Meanwhile, one undrafted rookie receiver did survive the first cut: Jeff Thomas out of Miami.
An undersized speed option at 5-foot-10, 174 pounds, Thomas clearly exhibited NFL talent for the Hurricanes. But questions about his time on campus prevented him from being drafted. He was dismissed from the program by coach Mark Richt in 2018, given another chance to be with the team in 2019 when coach Manny Diaz replaced Richt, then suspended by Diaz in October of last year. For a team like the Patriots that could potentially use an explosive down-the-field weapon, Thomas is worth watching closely this summer.
Along with Thomas, the other undrafted rookies who saw the other side of the first set of Patriots cuts were corner Myles Bryant, tight end Rashod Berry, tight end Jake Burt, defensive lineman Nick Coe, linebacker De'Jon Harris, defensive lineman Bill Murray and running back J.J. Taylor.
Due to what looks like a relatively shallow defensive line room in terms of numbers at the moment, Coe and Murray seem to have a path to some real opportunities once practices begin. Coe's SEC background won't hurt. Murray, meanwhile, has some old-school Patriots connections after playing under William and Mary associate head coach and defensive coordinator Vincent Brown, who was an All-Pro linebacker for the Patriots back in 1991. Brown told The Next Pats Podcast earlier this offseason that Murray's motor was "really, really rare."