Between the NFL Draft and rookie free agency, the New England Patriots added a combined 20 players to their roster since last Thursday. While all of them did fit onto the roster, the team still decided to make some changes on Monday: wide receiver John Jiles and tight end Marshall Lang were both waived.
Let’s analyze what the moves mean for the Patriots from a big picture perspective.
No surprises
Teams parting ways with bottom-of-the-roster players quickly after the draft is something of an unfortunate annual
tradition. Just last year, the Patriots released six players on the Monday following draft weekend.
Fast forward to today, and we can safely say that neither of the two moves comes as a surprise. Jiles and Lang were both long-shots to make the roster and have had a limited impact on the team since their arrivals in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Meanwhile, the team added several players at their positions over the last few days.
Depth chart reset
With Jiles and Lang off the team, the Patriots’ wide receiver and tight end groups now look as follows (even though no UDFA signings have been made official yet).
Wide receiver (11): Romeo Doubs (87), Kayshon Boutte (9), Mack Hollins (13), Kyle Williams (18), DeMario Douglas (3), Efton Chism III (86), Jeremiah Webb (29), Kyle Dixon (—), Nick DeGennaro (—), Jimmy Kibble (—), Cameron Dorner (—)
Tight end (5): Hunter Henry (85), Julian Hill (80), Eli Raridon (—), C.J. Dippre (81), Tanner Arkin (—)
The Patriots brought a combined six new players aboard at those positions in the last few days, including third-round draft pick Eli Raridon. Of course, another wide receiver seems to be waiting in the pipeline for New England: A.J. Brown, who the team is expected to acquire from the Eagles after June 1.
Roster down to 89, for now
With the two players now no longer with the Patriots, their roster — including those aforementioned unannounced undrafted rookie signings — now sits at 89 players. This leaves them, you guessed it, with two open spots.
Why two, though, given that teams can only carry 90 players in the offseason? Because German-born offensive tackle Lorenz Metz is roster exempt due to his status as an international player. He therefore doesn’t count against the 90-man limit, allowing the Patriots to carry 91 players.
How will New England fill those two open spots? That will be seen, but it would not be a surprise if one or both of the players to do so came via the list of rookie minicamp invitees.
No salary cap impact
Both Jiles and Lang were on minimum deals that only included an $885,000 base salary but no signing bonus or other guarantees. As a consequence, neither qualified for the Top-51 list of contracts counting against the cap during the offseason. In turn, this means that waiving them makes no difference to the club from a financial perspective because their actual cap impact was already zero dollars.
