Patriots' 87-man roster
Mike Reiss recently posted the Patriots' current roster which consists of 87 players. It should be noted that during minicamp/OTA's, teams are allowed to carry a max of 90 players. Here is the list and some 'quick notes' that Reiss made an effort to point out:
Quarterback (3)
Tom Brady
Ryan Mallett
Tim Tebow
Quick hit: The compelling question is now whether the Patriots will keep three quarterbacks after sticking with just two last season. Brady and Mallett are locks.
Running back (5)
Stevan Ridley
Shane Vereen
Brandon Bolden
LeGarrette Blount
Leon Washington
Quick hit: Bolden, after making the club in 2012 as a rookie free agent, missed all spring practices and his status bears watching as training camp approaches
Wide receiver (11)
Danny Amendola
Michael Jenkins
Julian Edelman
Kenbrell Thompkins
Kamar Aiken
Aaron Dobson
Josh Boyce
Donald Jones
Lavelle Hawkins
Matthew Slater
Mark Harrison
Quick hit: With 11 receivers, the team is thin compared to the league average at the position. This could be an area for another signing. No clear-cut answers outside of Amendola based on what reporters saw at OTAs/minicamp.
Tight end (7)
Rob Gronkowski
Aaron Hernandez
Michael Hoomanawanui
Daniel Fells
Jake Ballard
Zach Sudfeld
Brandon Ford
Quick hit: Even with top players Gronkowski and Hernandez not practicing in the spring, the Patriots are still deep. They are carrying as many tight ends as any team in the NFL.
Fullback (2)
James Develin
Ben Bartholomew
Quick hit: A pure fullback wasn’t carried on the roster for most of 2012.
Offensive tackle (8)
Nate Solder
Sebastian Vollmer
Marcus Cannon
Will Svitek
Markus Zusevics
Elvis Fisher
Kevin Haslam
R.J. Mattes
Quick hit: Solder (left) and Vollmer (right) are locked in as the starters, and it will be interesting to see if Svitek – signed to a one-year free-agent deal this offseason -- sticks as the swing guard.
Center/guard (7)
Logan Mankins
Dan Connolly
Ryan Wendell
Nick McDonald
Josh Kline
Matt Stankiewitch
Chris McDonald
Quick hit: Tackle Marcus Cannon projects as a top backup at right guard. The team could look to bolster this area with one of its open roster spots.
Defensive tackle (6)
Vince Wilfork
Tommy Kelly
Armond Armstead
Marcus Forston
Cory Grissom
Joe Vellano
Quick hit: Potentially too thin at this spot, it would make sense to think that the Patriots are eyeing this position with one of their three open roster spots.
Defensive end (7)
Rob Ninkovich
Chandler Jones
Justin Francis
Jermaine Cunningham
Jake Bequette
Michael Buchanan
Jason Vega
Quick hit: The intrigue at this spot is in the competition for the No. 3 spot on the depth chart, with a handful of younger players with upside.
Linebacker (11)
Jerod Mayo
Dont’a Hightower
Brandon Spikes
Jamie Collins
Dane Fletcher
Steve Beauharnais
Niko Koutouvides
Mike Rivera
Jeff Tarpinian
Marcus Benard
A.J. Edds
Quick hit: Hightower appeared to have a strong spring, positioning himself to increase his playing time by being more of a factor in sub packages. He played 51.6 percent of the defensive snaps as a rookie in 2012.
Cornerback (8)
Aqib Talib
Alfonzo Dennard
Kyle Arrington
Ras-I Dowling
Logan Ryan
Marquice Cole
Brandon Jones
Stephon Morris
Quick hit: Dowling’s standing on the depth chart looks better than initially thought, as he had a strong spring minicamp performance.
Safety (7)
Devin McCourty
Adrian Wilson
Steve Gregory
Tavon Wilson
Nate Ebner
Duron Harmon
Kanorris Davis
Quick hit: Cornerback Marquice Cole has been getting some work at safety with McCourty, Ebner, Harmon and Davis all not cleared to fully participate in practice.
Punter (2)
Zoltan Mesko
Ryan Allen
Quick hit: Two left-footed punters set for a training camp competition that figures to be judged over time, in terms of which player is more consistent.
Kicker (1)
Stephen Gostkowski
Quick hit: David Ruffer was waived last week, leaving Gostkowski (signed through 2014) as the team’s lone kicker.
Long snapper (2)
Danny Aiken
Mike Zupancic
Quick hit: Aiken has held the job for the last two seasons after the Patriots claimed him on waivers from the Bills.
Quarterback (3)
Tom Brady
Ryan Mallett
Tim Tebow
Quick hit: The compelling question is now whether the Patriots will keep three quarterbacks after sticking with just two last season. Brady and Mallett are locks.
Running back (5)
Stevan Ridley
Shane Vereen
Brandon Bolden
LeGarrette Blount
Leon Washington
Quick hit: Bolden, after making the club in 2012 as a rookie free agent, missed all spring practices and his status bears watching as training camp approaches
Wide receiver (11)
Danny Amendola
Michael Jenkins
Julian Edelman
Kenbrell Thompkins
Kamar Aiken
Aaron Dobson
Josh Boyce
Donald Jones
Lavelle Hawkins
Matthew Slater
Mark Harrison
Quick hit: With 11 receivers, the team is thin compared to the league average at the position. This could be an area for another signing. No clear-cut answers outside of Amendola based on what reporters saw at OTAs/minicamp.
Tight end (7)
Rob Gronkowski
Aaron Hernandez
Michael Hoomanawanui
Daniel Fells
Jake Ballard
Zach Sudfeld
Brandon Ford
Quick hit: Even with top players Gronkowski and Hernandez not practicing in the spring, the Patriots are still deep. They are carrying as many tight ends as any team in the NFL.
Fullback (2)
James Develin
Ben Bartholomew
Quick hit: A pure fullback wasn’t carried on the roster for most of 2012.
Offensive tackle (8)
Nate Solder
Sebastian Vollmer
Marcus Cannon
Will Svitek
Markus Zusevics
Elvis Fisher
Kevin Haslam
R.J. Mattes
Quick hit: Solder (left) and Vollmer (right) are locked in as the starters, and it will be interesting to see if Svitek – signed to a one-year free-agent deal this offseason -- sticks as the swing guard.
Center/guard (7)
Logan Mankins
Dan Connolly
Ryan Wendell
Nick McDonald
Josh Kline
Matt Stankiewitch
Chris McDonald
Quick hit: Tackle Marcus Cannon projects as a top backup at right guard. The team could look to bolster this area with one of its open roster spots.
Defensive tackle (6)
Vince Wilfork
Tommy Kelly
Armond Armstead
Marcus Forston
Cory Grissom
Joe Vellano
Quick hit: Potentially too thin at this spot, it would make sense to think that the Patriots are eyeing this position with one of their three open roster spots.
Defensive end (7)
Rob Ninkovich
Chandler Jones
Justin Francis
Jermaine Cunningham
Jake Bequette
Michael Buchanan
Jason Vega
Quick hit: The intrigue at this spot is in the competition for the No. 3 spot on the depth chart, with a handful of younger players with upside.
Linebacker (11)
Jerod Mayo
Dont’a Hightower
Brandon Spikes
Jamie Collins
Dane Fletcher
Steve Beauharnais
Niko Koutouvides
Mike Rivera
Jeff Tarpinian
Marcus Benard
A.J. Edds
Quick hit: Hightower appeared to have a strong spring, positioning himself to increase his playing time by being more of a factor in sub packages. He played 51.6 percent of the defensive snaps as a rookie in 2012.
Cornerback (8)
Aqib Talib
Alfonzo Dennard
Kyle Arrington
Ras-I Dowling
Logan Ryan
Marquice Cole
Brandon Jones
Stephon Morris
Quick hit: Dowling’s standing on the depth chart looks better than initially thought, as he had a strong spring minicamp performance.
Safety (7)
Devin McCourty
Adrian Wilson
Steve Gregory
Tavon Wilson
Nate Ebner
Duron Harmon
Kanorris Davis
Quick hit: Cornerback Marquice Cole has been getting some work at safety with McCourty, Ebner, Harmon and Davis all not cleared to fully participate in practice.
Punter (2)
Zoltan Mesko
Ryan Allen
Quick hit: Two left-footed punters set for a training camp competition that figures to be judged over time, in terms of which player is more consistent.
Kicker (1)
Stephen Gostkowski
Quick hit: David Ruffer was waived last week, leaving Gostkowski (signed through 2014) as the team’s lone kicker.
Long snapper (2)
Danny Aiken
Mike Zupancic
Quick hit: Aiken has held the job for the last two seasons after the Patriots claimed him on waivers from the Bills.
