The New England Patriots have not had a transaction on their active roster since adding cornerback Eric Rowe prior to opening day. This reflects the depth and talent, the team has across the board and the defensive tackle position is no exception.
However, despite having four talented defensive tackles on the team, New England has decided to cut down to three: according to Ian Rapoport, the team has waived Anthony Johnson:
The #Patriots are releasing DT Anthony Johnson today, source said. So there is a roster spot available.
The 23-year old, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2014, joined the Patriots in early May. He had a very good first offseason with the team and thus was able to beat out free agency signing like Terrance Knighton and Markus Kuhn for a spot on New England’s 53-man roster.
Johnson was active in weeks 1 and 3, playing a total of 43 defensive snaps (32.6%) and registering four tackles as a pass rush specialist. Still, despite his solid play, the team has decided to release the defensive tackle today. This, in turn, opens one roster spot – which the team might use to bring in a quarterback to back up Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacboy Brissett, both dealing with injuries.