Dion Lewis, Sebastian Vollmer officially to PUP as Pats cut down to 75

Lewis won't be eligible to play until Week 7 at the earliest

Even after getting the ball rolling early with yesterday's release of Terrance Knighton and Bryan Stork, the Patriots still needed to trim five players from their roster by 4 pm to reach the league mandated limit of 75. They have done so, releasing linebacker Ramon Humber, tight end Stephen Scheu and offensive lineman Keavon Milton while placing running back Dion Lewis and offensive lineman Sebastian Vollmer on the reserve PUP list.

None of the moves are surprising, as the Patriots got the headline making cuts out of the way yesterday with Pot Roast and Stork. It had already been reported that Lewis went through a second "clean up" procedure on his surgically repaired knee, making his placement on the PUP list a foregone conclusion. Meanwhile, Vollmer has barely been seen throughout camp, as the veteran tackle is reportedly dealing with a lingering hip issue that could wind up being season ending. Neither player will be eligible to return during the first six weeks of the season.

As for the cuts, the most noteworthy name on the list is Humber a veteran linebacker who was the Pats first free agent signing of the offseason. Humber was competing for a backup role with the hope that his special teams ability would win him a roster spot, but he appears to be beat out by the likes of recently extended Jonathan Freeny and rookie Kamu Grugier-Hill. Scheu was an undrafted rookie buried on the depth chart behind the likes of Gronk, Martellus Bennett, the emerging AJ Derby and veteran Clay Harbor, while Milton is an undrafted journeyman who was last on a regular season roster in 2014. All three players were missing from practice today, foreshadowing their release from the club.