Dec 24, 2011; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots defensive end Brandon Deaderick (71) celebrates a sack with New England Patriots defensive tackle Kyle Love (left) against the Miami Dolphins during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

Putting aside the 2003 draft right now to digest these recent roster moves by the New England Patriots (another draft revisit and grading of 2003 will be posted this weekend), some additional perspective is needed with these head scratching moves.

First, the release of defensive tackles Brandon Deaderick and Kyle Love are obviously not salary cap related, as both were playing on what is basically their rookie minimum contracts.  The release of Deaderick–where the Patriots were apparently aware that Love was not going to play this season if they had their way–seems to indicate there are some kind of  issues there.  Deaderick got the majority of playing time over the last six games, while Love was the regular for the first half of the season.  Now both are gone.  Not traded before the draft for a late round pick: released, with nothing back in return.

There were two new defensive linemen brought in this off-season–Tommy Kelly and Armond Armstead–and both are unknown products to an extent, as neither have played a snap for this defense, and neither are big, offensive-linemen occupying bodies like Deaderick and Love were in the past.  Add in that the Patriots parted ways with Myron Pryor prior to the draft and 2nd-round wash-out (and Boston College product) Ron Brace at the end of last season, and all-pro nose tackle Vince Wilfork will need a program to know who is lining up next to him at training camp.

The release of defensive tackle Kyle Love as Non-Football Injury/Illness clause release due to his diagnosis with Type 2 diabetes is puzzling to say the least.  From a personal perspective (as I switch to first-person–which I am loathe to do when writing and can feel the wrath of my journalism professor bearing down on me from 20 years ago), I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes almost exactly three years ago, and in my case, I was quickly able to get my diabetes under control. Once I did my health has improved markedly since the diagnosis. In that time I have shed over 60 pounds and gone from a 40 inch waist to a 32 inch waist.  When I would be winded after climbing the four flights of stairs to my 9-5 job three years ago, now I pound out 20 to 30 minutes of high-step each morning just to reach my target heart rate and begin to break a sweat.  My HBA1C, fasting blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc have swung from health hazard to healthy athlete level (disclaimer: I do take insulin daily and am on low-dose cholesterol and blood-pressure  medications as a precaution).   This is why the release puzzles me: if anything, the fact he has been diagnosed should lead to improved health, strength, stamina and play from Love.  Why release him now?  Is it a retaliatory move for something? Was he withholding the information from the team?  I do not understand where the Patriots front office is coming from with this move.

As for defensive tackle Brandon Deaderick, the timing of the move is puzzling and leads to speculation about off-field issues. Deaderick and Love split snaps next to Wilfork and both were major contributors.  At worst, the two were expected to battle in training camp for a depth spot behind Kelly and Armstead.  Is this a sign that the Patriots are comfortable with Marcus Forston as their depth defensive lineman?  Behind Fortson are only long-shots/practice-squad potential defensive linemen such as Joe Vellano, Cory Grisson, and Dewayne Cherrington.  Right now, the only other defensive tackle to play a snap on defense in 2012 with the Patriots is Fortson, with 8 snaps total in game three versus Baltimore.

Perhaps it is a change in philosophy. If the defensive line is going to get active (they were in the nickel/sub defense package almost 60% of the time last year) and go after the quarterback, then it makes sense to get rid of them as Love and Deaderick are not fits as they are space eaters.  It leaves the depth a bit thin, but the team was high on undrafted defensive tackle Marcus Fortson last season in training camp, and coach Bill Belichick, defensive coach Pepper Johnson, and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia may believe he is ready to take a huge step forward.  Having Fortson, Kelly, and Armstead with Wilfork inside gives the team a pass rushing presence in the interior defensive line that has  been non-existent since Ted Washington filled the nose tackle position in 2003.

What is also possible is the team is looking to move back to a 3-4 alignment with Vince Wilfork in the middle of the defense. Kelly has experience as a nose tackle and an end in the 3-4, in addition to playing inside in a 4-3.  Kelly and Wilfork on the nose, and Chandler Jones as a 3-4 defensive end with Armond Armstead, Jermaine Cunningham, Justin Francis, and Marcus Fortson at depth would be a possible alignment.  That would flex defensive end/outside linebacker Rob Ninkovich to linebacker in the 3-4 with Jerod Mayo and Brandon Spikes inside, and a combination of Dont’a Hightower, Ninkovich, and rookie Jamie Collins outside.  That alignment would play to their strength at linebacker, but seems to lessen the versatility of Vince Wilfork by having him occupying multiple blockers. Also, defensive end Chandler Jones  playing a 3-4 at end moves him off the edge and has him playing with strength rather than speed (especially in rushing defense) which seems to not maximize his skills.

Unfortunately, the fans are left to wonder about these moves, as coach Bill Belichick is not about to share his thoughts and explain his motivation for these moves on the defensive line, releasing both Kyle Love and Brandon Deaderick.  Considering how both players were snapped up on waivers shows that there was value there for both of them, as even a  future late round pick has more value than getting nothing at all.  In this case, the Patriots appear to have missed an opportunity to maximize their value and stockpile a few late round draft picks.  As always, the Patriots consistency in the off-season is their unpredictable nature.  Once again, the 2013 off-season is proving to be full of surprises and intrigue in Foxboro, MA.

Dec 22, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Oakland Raiders defensive tackle Tommy Kelly (93) and defensive end Lamarr Houston (99) react on the field in the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

After the Patriots released defensive lineman Kyle Love and Brandon Deaderick, the first thought that ran through my mind was “Tommy Kelly is going to have one hell of a year”. Kelly is now going to have a lot more playing time in 2013 with those two gone, and it really shows how much the Patriots coaching staff likes Kelly by having the confidence of releasing Love, and Deaderick.

Kyle Love was a key part to the Patriots defense in 2012 and his presence will be tough to replace for New England. However, it shows me a lot about Kelly that the Patriots would trust him to fulfill the absence of Love. Kelly had a down year in 2012 but in the two years before that he was a dominant force in this league. His strength is being able to provide a pass rushing presence from the inside for a defense, and this is something that Love was never able to bring to the Pats. If the Patriots are willing to let Kelly fill Love’s spot on the inside, then I think Kelly will be a very good run stopping presence as well. The reason that I think Kelly had such a down year in 2012 with Oakland is because I think that he was no longer in the right situation. He was getting ridiculously overpaid, and the Raiders are just an organization that don’t have much control (not to mention the fact that Raiders pretty much sucked). In New England, Kelly is going to have to work for his money and the locker room leadership here in New England is much better than it was in Oakland. Bill Belichick won’t take any crap from Kelly and if he doesn’t work hard and produce, then he probably will find himself without a job. Because of all of this, I think that Kelly will go back to that 2010 and 2011 player that dominated opposing teams. The Patriots rarely leave themselves in “a pickle” in terms of roster needs and talent, and that is the main reason why I think that Kelly will have a good year for the Pats.

The Patriots need a guy that can take some of the pressure off of Wilfork on the inside, and even before Love was released I thought that Kelly could be the guy to do that. Between the 2010 and 2011 seasons, Kelly had 14.5 sacks as an inside rusher. That is really incredible for a guy that lines up on the inside. What usually happens in a defense is the inside guys get a lot of attention and push the pocket, which opens up the sack opportunities for the guys on the outside. The fact that Kelly was able to rack up 14.5 sacks in those two years despite being on the inside really speaks to his pass rushing ability. The Patriots have plenty of talent along the defensive line, and with the emergence of rookie Chandler Jones and veteran Rob Ninkovich, Kelly should get plenty of one on one coverage in 2013. I expect a 7+ sack season from Kelly, and I think his impact will go beyond his sack numbers.

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

According to a source close to the USA Today’s Mike Garafolo, the Patriots star TE could require surgery on his back after recently undergoing an MRI to check on a disc in his back. Gronkowski reportedly dealt with back issues there pertaining to that disc last season, and this is definitely a situation to monitor closely.

It just seems like Rob Gronkowski can’t catch a freaking break these days, and I feel absolutely awful for the guy. Honestly, I don’t want to think about the long-term effects of all the arm surgeries and the potential back issues, because it’s enough to make anyone’s head spin. Hopefully, this back surgery ends up being a one-and-done minor issue, while the new plate strengthens his arm to the point where we won’t hear about it again. Yeah, that might be a lot to hope for.

I would recommend reading the entire article by Garafolo linked above, because he goes into more detail regarding the information his source on the matter gave him. Let’s see if Gronkowski can avoid surgery this time, and the source noted that the disc is different from the one that Gronk underwent surgery on in 2009.

Update: A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the surgery would be minor, and the source added that Gronkowski’s recovery from a potential back surgery would fall in line with the recovery from the arm surgery. Another source told Schefter that Gronkowskis will be “fine long term”, so my mind is definitely more at ease thanks to Schefter.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.