On Monday, three new players were spotted at the New England Patriots' practice. The trio later turned out to be three undrafted rookie signings in defensive edges Mikey Bart and Nick Usher as well as linebacker Christian Kuntz. And while the first two have survived their first full day with the defending world champions, the 23-year old Kuntz did not.
After the Patriots traded a seventh round draft pick to the Cincinnati Bengals to acquire linebacker and special teamer Marquis Flowers yesterday, the team opted to release Kuntz to make room on the roster. During his lone practice with the team (at least the media portion of it), the Duquesne product and two-time second team All-American nominee, was part of the linebacker drills.
Despite recent subtractions on the defensive edge, Kuntz, who set school and conference records with 30.5 career sacks and also worked as a long snapper, has been a longshot to make the 53-man roster. While he offers some solid athletic traits, the players higher up on the depth chart are just more talented and experienced playing in the Patriots' defensive system.
With Marquis now on board and taking over Kuntz's roster spot, the Patriots are still at the 90-man offseason roster limit heading into their preseason finale against the New York Giants. On September 2, 4:00 p.m. ET teams must then cut their rosters to 53.