With the NFL Draft in the rear-view mirror, the New England Patriots continue to shake up their roster. On Monday, they released wide receiver John Jiles and tight end Marshall Lang; on Tuesday, another player was let go: running back Elijah Mitchell.
Mitchell had originally joined the Patriots via their practice squad in late December, but never saw any actual game action down the stretch in 2025. He was re-signed via a reserve/futures deal after the Super Bowl, but has now been released. Let’s assess
what this means for the club.
Running back shakeup
The Patriots experienced some turnover at their running back position over the last week. Besides releasing Mitchell, it also brought in two rookies: seventh-round draft pick Jam Miller and undrafted free agent Myles Montgomery.
All that movement has left the team’s depth chart six players deep:
Running back (6): Rhamondre Stevenson (38), TreVeyon Henderson (32), Terrell Jennings (26), Lan Larison (34), Jam Miller* (—), Myles Montgomery° (—)
Out of those six running backs, Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson are the only roster locks. Unless there are further additions in the pipeline, this means that the other four — Jennings, Larison, Miller, Montgomery — will spend the summer competing for what is unlikely to be more than one or two spots on the depth chart.
All eyes on youngsters
A sixth-round draft pick by the 49ers in 2021, Mitchell is a veteran of five NFL seasons and 36 combined regular season and playoff games. This made him the second most-experienced running back on the Patriots’ roster behind Rhamondre Stevenson.
Based on his experience, he could have been in a good position to compete for the third spot behind Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson. However, it seems clear that the Patriots are willing to give their younger players a shot at earning practice reps, preseason playing time and by extension those aforementioned backup spots on the roster. Whether they will capitalize on the opportunity remains to be seen, though.
Another open spot
With Michell joining the aforementioned John Jiles and Marshall Lang on the train out of town, the Patriots now have 88 players under contract and three open roster spots available. As we mentioned previously, the team has 91 spots available because of German-born offensive tackle Lorenz Metz carrying a roster exemption due to his international status.
How the Patriots will fill those spots is to be determined, but their rookie minicamp on May 8-10 might bring some clarity. At the moment, eight reported tryout players will participate. It would not be a surprise if one or more of them ended signing with the club.
Minor cap impact
Even though he spent parts of the 2025 season on the Patriots’ practice squad and was retained on a one-year minimum deal in February, Mitchell was still among the 51 most-expensive players on the team’s roster before his release. This mean, that his $1.075 million salary cap hit did count against the team’s books even under the NFL’s Top 51 rule.
As a consequence, his release did slightly alter New England’s cap: the team added $70,000 to its available capital. Those $70,000 come courtesy of kicker Andy Borregales, who moved into those top 51 and whose $1.005 salary replaces Mitchell’s.
