New England Patriots cut Jeff Tarpinian, Chris McDonald
The New England Patriots announced that they made 13 cuts and placed Adrian Wilson on the injured reserve, and two of the cuts they announced are new moves that were not previously reported. Most of us were very surprised to see that Jeff Tarpinian was on the 53-man roster pre-deadline, but none of us are surprised to hear that he has been cut. It was only a matter of time before the Patriots axed Tarpinian, and the Pats are best-served using his roster spot for a defensive lineman (they have left themselves thin there by cutting Justin Francis and Marcus Forston).
I expect Tarpinian to clear waivers and revert to the practice squad, because he is a useful guy to have around. Tarp is a good special teams player, and he’s not a bad backup linebacker due to some decent work in run defense.
The other new move that the Patriots announced is the release of offensive lineman Chris McDonald, who is the younger brother of former Patriots OL Nick McDonald. Chris was signed as a UDFA, and I fully expect him to make the practice squad after an encouraging August. I wouldn’t rule out his brother Nick re-signing with the team now that he is presumably healthy, but there is one other “move” that might make the elder McDonald’s services unneeded.
The New England Patriots did not announce the release of UDFA offensive lineman Josh Kline, whose poor Week 4 performance almost undermined some good play earlier in the preseason. The Kent State product is still on the Patriots 53-man roster, which is currently at 51. It was reported by the Boston Globe that Josh Kline would be released along with CB Justin Green and placed on the practice squad, but Kline has not been released and has presumably made the roster for good.
Update: Chris McDonald has been waived/injured, which means he will actually move to the injured reserve if he, as expected, passes through waivers unclaimed.