The New England Patriots’ 2023 undrafted class has reduced to three.
The organization announced the waiving of rookie defensive tackle Justus Tavai on Friday, ending a stint that began midway through May following a minicamp tryout.
Tavai, 24, closed out his collegiate career at San Diego State, totaling 34 tackles, 3.5 sacks and one interception across 11 games last fall. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound brother of veteran Patriots linebacker Jahlani Tavai spent the previous four Mountain West campaigns at the University of Hawaii. He initially began at El Camino College in 2017.
The undrafted departure leaves quarterback Malik Cunningham, tight end Johnny Lumpkin and linebacker Jourdan Heilig remaining from this spring’s signings.
Additionally on Friday, the Patriots officially processed safety and captain Devin McCourty’s retirement, according to the NFL transaction wire.
The post-June 1 move brings the roster down to 88 of a possible 90 active players in the midst of organized team activities. As detailed by PatsCap’s Miguel Benzan, it also allows the dead salary-cap charges of the franchise All-Decade selection to be split into $3.5 million for 2023 and $6.2 million for 2024.
McCourty, 35, was recently hired by NBC Sports as a “Football Night in America” studio analyst. The 2010 first-round draft choice out of Rutgers started all 229 games he appeared in during his New England tenure, including postseason, finishing as a two-time Pro Bowler, three-time second-team All-Pro and three-time Super Bowl champion.
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