FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced today a series of roster moves to reach the mandatory 53-man roster limit. The Patriots released 16 players, placed three players on Injured Reserve, placed three players on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform List and one player on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury List.
RESERVE LISTS
The Patriots placed WR Kendrick Bourne, G Cole Strange and LB Sione Takitaki on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform List, DT Christian Barmore on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury List (designated to return) and OL Calvin Anderson, S Marte Mapu (designated to return) and DT Armon Watts on Injured Reserve.
RELEASED PLAYERS
The Patriots released the following players: S Joshuah Bledsoe, T Kellen Diesch, OL Liam Fornadel, LB Joe Giles-Harris, RB Kevin Harris, RB Terrell Jennings, LB Kobe Jones, WR Matt Landers, G Atonio Mafi, DE Jotham Russell, K Chad Ryland, S A.J. Thomas, CB Shaun Wade, WR David Wallis, TE Mitchell Wilcox and QB Bailey Zappe.
Bledsoe, 25, originally was drafted by New England in the sixth-round (188th overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Missouri. The 5-foot-11, 207-pounder, missed his rookie season due to injury and played in three games in 2022. Last season, Bledsoe spent the majority of the year on the practice squad, before being signed to the 53-man roster late in the year and seeing action in one game.
Diesch, 27, was signed by New England on Aug. 2, 2024. The 6-foot-7, 300-pounder, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Miami Dolphins on May 13, 2022 out of Arizona State. He was released by Miami at the end of training camp and spent the 2022 season on the Chicago Bears practice squad and the 2023 season on the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad. After being released by Pittsburgh on May 14, 2024, he was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns but was released by the Browns on May 16, 2024.
Fornadel, 25, was signed by New England on June 18, 2024. The 6-foot-4, 312-pounder, signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL following his collegiate career at James Madison (2017-21) and then played with the DC Defenders of the XFL in 2023 and was with the team in 2024 when the team merged to form the UFL.
Giles-Harris, 27, was originally signed by New England on Aug. 9, 2023 and spent the entire year on the practice squad. The 6-foot-2, 234-pounder, has spent time with Jacksonville (2019-20) and Buffalo (2021-22) on the practice squad and active roster. He originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Jacksonville out of Duke on April 28, 2019. After two seasons rotating between the 53-man roster and the practice squad with Jacksonville, Giles-Harris was signed by Buffalo on Aug. 31, 2021 after being released by Jacksonville on May 16, 2021. He has played in 17 regular season games with three starts and has 18 total tackles and 1 sack.
Harris, 23, was drafted by New England in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft (183rd overall) out of South Carolina. The 5-foot-10, 225-pounder, began each of the last two seasons on the practice squad. Overall, he has played in nine games with one start and has 34 rushing attempts for 117 yards, and 2 touchdowns and 3 receptions for 58 yards.
Jennings, 23, was signed by New England as a rookie free agent on May 13, 2024 out of Florida A&M. The 6-foot, 217-pounder, played in 44 games during his college career at Florida A&M and finished with 281 rushing attempts for 1,860 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Jones, 26, was signed by New England on Aug. 20, 2024. The 6-foot-3, 255-pounder, has spent time with the Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers after originally joining Atlanta as a rookie free agent out of Mississippi State in 2021. He most recently played in six games for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League this past season.
Landers, 25, was claimed off waivers from Cleveland on Aug. 20, 2024. The 6-foot-4, 200-pounder, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Seattle Seahawks out of Arkansas in 2023. He spent his rookie season on the practice squad for Seattle and the Carolina Panthers. Landers spent time with the Arlington Renegades and San Antonio Brahmas of the UFL in 2024 before being signed by the Cleveland Browns on May 21, 2024. Landers began his college career at Georgia (2017-2020), transferred to Toledo in 2021 and then to Arkansas for the 2022 season. In 2022, he recorded 47 receptions for 901 yards and 8 touchdowns.
Mafi, 23, was drafted by New England in the fifth-round (144th overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft out of UCLA. The 6-foot-3, 330-pounder, played in all 17 games last season with five starts at left guard.
Russell, 21, was signed by New England on May 13, 2024. The 6-foot-4, 239-pounder, is an Australian rugby player who is converting to defensive end. He played for the Currumbin Eagles and Tweed Seagulls under 21 team and was selected for the NFL's International Player Pathway program. Prior to that, he played for the Brisbane Broncos development squad.
Ryland, 24, was originally drafted by New England in the fourth-round (112th overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Maryland. The 6-foot, 195-pounder, finished 16-of-25 on field goal attempts as a rookie last year and 24-of-25 on extra points. He also handled kickoff duties during his season with the Patriots.
Thomas, 24, was signed by New England on Aug. 2, 2024. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder, spent the 2024 spring season with the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL, seeing action in 12 games and finishing with 23 total tackles and 3 interceptions. He originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Chicago Bears out of Western Michigan in 2022. He began his rookie year on the practice squad before being signed to the 53-man roster on Nov. 29 and saw action in five games. Thomas started the 2023 season on the Chicago practice and was elevated for one game before being released on Oct. 29.
Wade, 25, was acquired by New England in a trade with Baltimore on Aug. 16, 2021 in exchange for a 2023 seventh-round draft pick and a 2023 fifth-round draft pick. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder, originally entered the NFL as a fifth-round draft pick (160th overall) by Baltimore out of Ohio State in the 2021 NFL Draft. He has played in 20 games with six starts and 26 total tackles.
Wallis, 22, was signed by New England as a rookie free agent on June 4, 2024 out of Randolph Macon. The 6-foot, 184-pounder, played in 42 games and finished with 146 receptions for 3,144 yards and 34 touchdowns.
Wilcox, 27, was signed by New England as an unrestricted free agent from Cincinnati on April 22, 2024. The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder, originally signed with Cincinnati on April 27, 2020, as a rookie free agent out of South Florida. He spent the majority of the 2020 season on the practice squad before being signed to the 53-man roster on Jan. 1, 2020. He has played in 48 regular season games with nine starts and has 29 receptions for 211 yards with 1 touchdown. Wilcox has played in seven postseason games and has added 2 receptions for 29 yards.
Zappe, 25, was drafted by New England in the fourth-round (137th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Western Kentucky. The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder, has played in 14 games with eight starts for New England, completing 192-of-304 passes for 2,053 yards with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He began last season on the practice squad, before being signed to the 53-man roster and started in six games.
