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Harland Gunn, we hardly knew you. The offensive lineman claimed off waivers by the New England Patriots three days ago, was released today. He was part of three transactions, as the team also announced signing offensive lineman Mark Asper and tight end Mason Brodine.
The Patriots' official press release has to say the following about Asper, who will wear number 72, and Brodine, who was assigned 44:
Asper, 29, originally entered the NFL as a sixth-round draft pick (178th overall) by the Buffalo Bills in the 2012 NFL Draft out of Oregon. The 6-foot-6, 321-pounder, was released by Buffalo following training camp in 2012 and was claimed off waivers by Minnesota. Asper was inactive for the first 14 games of the 2012 season with the Vikings before being released and claimed off waivers by Jacksonville. He played in one game for the Jaguars, mainly on special teams. After being released by Jacksonville on Aug. 25, 2013, he was signed by Buffalo to the practice squad. Buffalo signed him to the 53-man roster on Oct. 13, 2013, and he played in six games for the Bills that season. Asper was released by Buffalo at the end of training camp in 2014 and spent time on the practice squad of the New York Giants, Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins in 2014.
Brodine, 27, originally signed with the Oakland Raiders as a rookie free agent out of Nebraska-Kearny on July 31, 2011. The 6-foot-7, 270-pounder, was released by Oakland at the end of training camp and signed to the practice squad. He was signed to the 53-man roster by Oakland on Dec. 18 and played in two games. Brodine was released by the Raiders at the end of training camp in 2012 and was claimed off waivers by the St. Louis Rams. He spent the 2012 and the 2013 seasons on the St. Louis practice squad. Brodine went to training camp with St. Louis last season but suffered an injury during training camp and spent the season on injured reserve.
It would be a surprise if Asper and Brodine were anything more than camp bodies at this point in time. They are, however, depth options to give the team more flexibility at their respective positions.
Today's transactions bring the roster to its offseason limit of 90.