By 4 p.m. this afternoon the Patriots roster will have a different look. That's the deadline for NFL teams to trim their way to 65 players, not including any NFL Europe exemptions they choose to hold onto.
Head Coach Bill Belichick already got started on his moves, releasing four players – running backs J.R. Redmond and Antwoine Womack, defensive end Buck Rasmussen and defensive lineman Ken Kocher – Sunday afternoon.
The roster currently stands at 78, including former Harvard guard Jamil Soriano, reportedly acquired on Monday from the Bears for a conditional draft pick. A Boston Herald report indicated the Patriots would send a seventh-round pick in 2005 to Chicago if Soriano remained on the roster for a set period of time. Soriano was originally an undrafted free agent in Green Bay but was waived and picked up by Chicago.
That means Belichick could make as many as 13 moves by 4 p.m. to get under the limit. He could opt to keep the five players (Rod Trafford, Mike Malan, Dyshod Carter, Brad Harris and Frank Moreau) who spent the spring playing in NFL Europe and won't count against the roster until the final cutdown date on Aug. 31. If that's the case, only eight moves would need to be made. Among the options would be placing a player on an injured list (physically unable to perform, non-football injury or injured reserve) or release.
Patriots.com will update immediately when the moves are announced.
