Two days ago, news broke that the New England Patriots were picking up free agent linebacker David Harris. The veteran, who spent his entire 10-year career with the New York Jets before getting released on June 6, signed a two-year, $5.0 million contract with the defending world champions.
With New England already having 90 players on its roster, the team needed to make a corresponding roster move after adding Harris. Yesterday, such a move was made public: The Patriots made bringing Harris on board official and also announced the release of third-year wide receiver DeAndrew White.
The 25-year old White originally joined the Patriots in September 2016 after being released by the San Francisco 49ers. New England signed the former undrafted rookie to its practice squad – a spot where he would spent the remainder of the season. White was still able to positively stand out as he was named "practice player of the week" a total of six times; third-highest number on the team.
However, his prospects of actually returning to the Patriots did not look good. After all, New England has one of the deepest wide receiver corps in the NFL. White's chances of making the 53-man roster were already quasi non-existent and the team adding two higher-upside undrafted rookies to the fold did not help his chances of earning a practice squad spot for the second straight year.
Seeing White get released in favor of Harris does not come as a surprise. He was still able to add to his jewelry collection in Foxboro, though: After winning two national championships at Alabama, White earned a Super Bowl ring with the Patriots last season.