The New England Patriots began their roster cutdowns yesterday. Overall, through a series of transactions, the team was able to bring its roster from 90 to 81 - 28 away from the regular season limit of 53 that needs to be reached by 4:00 p.m. ET today.
But before the moves continue, let's take a final look back at yesterday's.
New England offered only one minor surprise
Of the Patriots' nine moves, most were to be expected. The lone exception might have been the team's trade of cornerback Justin Coleman to the Seattle Seahawks. After Cyrus Jones' season ending injury, the third-year man's chances of earning a backup role appeared to be solid. However, New England's front office obviously had a different plan in mind.
The Patriots might carry a rookie in their secondary
The biggest winners of the Patriots moving Coleman are undrafted rookies Kenny Moore II, D.J. Killings and Will Likely. It would not be a surprise to see one of them ultimately make the 53-man roster as a developmental depth cornerback and kicking game option - Moore and Likely being the favorites due to practice performance and ability as a potential punt returner, respectively.
The backup linebacker competition appears to be settled
When Jonathan Freeny played almost the entire preseason finale against the New York Giants, the writing appeared to be on the wall that he would not survive cutdowns. Indeed, the team opted to let the veteran go yesterday which in turn means that the linebacker competition appears to be over: Elandon Roberts and David Harris appear to be locks to serve as rotational defenders with recently acquired Marquis Flowers primarily a special teams option.
Make sure to follow our cutdown tracker to catch up on all the latest news.