Patriots Announce Release Of Jabar Gaffney, Among Other Moves

The New England Patriots announced a flurry of transactions made this afternoon just before the 4:00 p.m. deadline for a 75-man roster to be set. Some you will find are very surprised about.

The team announced that they have released veterans Jabar Gaffney, Donte Stallworth, Gerard Warren, Ross Ventrone and Tim Bulman. In contradiction to reports earlier today that they had been cut, Spencer Larsen and Josh Barrett will actually be held onto and placed on injured reserve. Joining them on IR will be veteran defensive back Will Allen.

Jake Ballard, Myron Pryor and Markus Zusevics were all no surprisingly placed on the reserve/Non Football injury list. The lone addition made today was the claiming of former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Kerry Taylor, who spent time with the Patriots' practice squad last season.

Phew, what a day it has been! Let's get started with the obvious, shall we?

Gaffney's release from the team is a major shock. I, as well as Greg among many other Football writers had this guy as a roster lock from the very start. His chemistry with Tom Brady that was formed back in 2007 seemed to almost pick up where it left off at the start of training camp. He received several reps with the first team and had looked good throughout camp.

However, Gaffney has recently struggled with some nagging injuries, which could have caused his release this early in cuts. With both he and Stallworth off the roster, it appears that one of my favorite All-Time Patriots in Deion Branch will be making the final roster. Much credit goes to Branch for outlasting two other Brady favorites.

Another surprise in all of this is the decision to place both Larsen and Barrett, who had thought to been cut, on injured reserve instead. Both had their injury struggles throughout camp, but must have shown Bill Belichick something to allow him to hold onto them for possibly another training camp. Allen, who was a sure bet to be cut by many people, will also stick around and try again for a spot next season, if healthy.

Lots of drama going on today, but it's just getting started. Share your thoughts in the comments below!