FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced that they have released rookie DL Michael Barnett, CB Michael Jackson and WR Mohamed Sanu Sr.
Barnett, 23, was signed by New England on Aug. 24. The 6-foot-4, 304-pounder played in 46 games over four seasons at Georgia from 2015-19 and registered 47 tackles and two passes defensed. Barnett played in 13-of-14 games with six starts for the Bulldogs in 2019 and posted a career-high 23 tackles and broke up one pass.
Jackson, 23, was traded to New England from Detroit on Aug. 9. The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder originally entered the NFL as a fifth-round draft pick (158th overall) by the Dallas Cowboys out of Miami in the 2019 NFL Draft. Jackson began his rookie season on the Dallas practice squad before being signed by the Detroit 53-man roster off the Dallas practice squad. He saw action in one game last season and did not register any statistics.
Sanu, 31, is a veteran of nine NFL seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals (2012-15), Atlanta Falcons (2016-2019) and the Patriots (2019). The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder was acquired by the Patriots in a trade with Atlanta on Oct. 23, 2019. Last season with the Patriots, Sanu played in eight games with six starts and finished with 26 receptions for 207 yards and one rushing attempt for 8 yards. He also started in one postseason game and caught one pass for 11 yards. Sanu originally entered the NFL as a third-round draft pick (83rd overall) by Cincinnati out of Rutgers in the 2012 NFL Draft. He signed with Atlanta in 2016 as an unrestricted free agent. Overall, he has played in 118 games with 92 starts and has registered 403 receptions for 4,507 yards with 26 touchdowns and has 41 rushing attempts for 223 yards with two touchdowns. Sanu has also tallied 26 receptions for 318 yards in nine postseason contests.
