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When 31-year-old Michael Jenkins signed a one-year, $840,000 deal with the Patriots in the offseason he was already considered a longshot to make the final roster. But for a team that was so receiver-needy, it wouldn't have been too much of a surprise to see him stick thanks to a veteran savvy the team sorely lacked.
Adam Schefter first broke the news that the team had parted ways with the former Atlanta Falcon and Minnesota Viking this morning.
While the news isn't shocking as Jenkins had been battling a nagging hamstring issue, it's clearly a vote of confidence in the young corps of Aaron Dobson, Josh Boyce and Kenbrell Thompkins as they're thrown into the mix with the 'veteran' incumbency of Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman. It was once thought that the Patriots just couldn't have enough camp body receivers in a position that had very few clear frontrunners, but Jenkins joins Donald Jones and Lavelle Hawkins as a trio of wideouts released weeks before the tough trim-downs start. Teams must cut down to 75 players by August 27 and finally to 53 by August 31.
Jenkins amassed 4,427 yards on 354 receptions including 25 touchdowns during his nine-year career.