3 Veteran Patriots Who Should Be Cut Entering Training Camp

The Patriots have been known to make shrewd roster moves. That's what's made their two-decade run of dominance sustainable. Bill Belichick doesn't let emotional ties to veterans get in the way of making the best decisions for the team. And this year, the Patriots would be better off by cutting these three veterans.

1. Brian Hoyer

We all know that Tom Brady is the starting quarterback in New England until he decides otherwise, but Brian Hoyer has been kept around in recent years as the necessary backup should he get injured. However, the Patriots drafted quarterback Jarrett Stidham in the fourth round this year, making Hoyer expendable. Stidham would be better off sitting behind Brady on the depth chart than Hoyer, and considering he's going to be 34 this season, there's little point in keeping him around. If Brady goes down, the season can't really be salvaged anyway. Might as well throw a kid into the fire.

2. Elandon Roberts

Roberts did a solid job of filling the void at linebacker after Jamie Collins got traded back in 2016. Now Collins is back, though, and suddenly he's not nearly as necessary as he was in years past. It'll be tough for him to find snaps behind Collins, Dont'a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy. Though he represents a good depth piece, the Patriots would be best served moving on from him and using his roster spot on someone else.

3. Rex Burkhead

Burkhead has given the Patriots some explosive plays out of the backfield during his two years with the team, but he hasn't been able to stay healthy. He's appeared in just 18 games since the start of the 2017 season, totaling a modest 835 total yards from scrimmage. When that's coupled with the emergence of Sony Michel as the team's bellcow and the fact that James White is the primary pass-catcher out of the backfield (not to mention Alabama 'back Damien Harris, drafted in 2019), it seems like a no-brainer that the Patriots should cut Burkhead.