Patriots release wide receiver Cameron Meredith from their PUP list; linebacker Scooby Wright III from the practice squad

The New England Patriots entered the regular season with numerous players on injury-related reserve lists. Only two of them, however, were eligible to return later during the year: offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste and wide receiver Cameron Meredith. It now looks like that at least one of the two will not be on the Patriots’ active roster anytime soon, though, as the club has released Meredith from its physically unable to perform list (PUP) today.

Meredith originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2015 out of Illinois State. He started his pro career with the Chicago Bears, for whom he appeared in 25 games and caught a combined 77 passes for 1,008 yards and four touchdowns. Playing both on the perimeter and in the slot, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound wideout showed plenty of promise early on in his career before a knee injury cost him his entire 2017 campaign.

In 2018, the New Orleans Saints brought Meredith on board as a restricted free agent after Chicago declined to match a two-year, $9.6 million offer sheet. However, he failed to get back to old form and appeared in only six games for the Saints — catching just nine passes for 114 yards and a score — before another knee injury forced the team to place him on injured reserve. He returned this summer but was ultimately released in late July.

Meredith, who underwent a procedure this offseason to clean up his knee, joined the Patriots a short time later but was immediately placed on the PUP list. The 27-year-old was not activated before the start of the regular season and therefore spent the first four games sidelined. However, it looks like he did not make sufficient progress while on PUP which has now led to New England parting ways with him.

With Meredith gone, the Patriots’ wide receiver group looks as follows:

Active roster: Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, Phillip Dorsett, Jakobi Meyers, Gunner Olszewski, Matthew Slater

Injured reserve: N’Keal Harry

Rookie N’Keal Harry was placed on injured reserve after the cutdown day deadline, which means that he is eligible to return to practice after six weeks and to the active roster after eight. The Patriots’ first-round draft choice was placed on IR because of an ankle injury suffered during the team’s preseason opener.

The Patriots also opened up a spot on their 10-man practice squad today: according to the NFL’s transaction wire, the team released linebacker Scooby Wright III not even two weeks after re-signing him. The 25-year-old, who started and recorded two sacks in New England’s preseason finale less than a week after signing with the club, had previously been waived as part of Labor Day weekend’s roster cutdowns.

With him no longer on the practice squad, it now looks as follows with one spot open:

DB Nate Brooks, LB Terez Hall, DT Ufomba Kamalu, DB Obi Melifonwu, LB Calvin Munson, OT Dan Skipper, DT Nick Thurman, OL Najee Toran, TE Jason Vander Laan