New England Patriots release three players
According to the team website, the New England Patriots have released three players just three days into training camp. Cornerbacks Derek Cox and Justin Green and undrafted rookie linebacker D.J. Lynch are no longer members of the Patriots.
This news was perhaps foreshadowed by the fact that none of these players were present at yesterday’s session.
It’s not too surprising to see Cox and Green get cut. As Bradley Fletcher, Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan continue to impress, there wasn’t much room for a declining veteran who is far removed from his starring days with the Jacksonville Jaguars (Cox) and a practice squad veteran of multiple NFL teams (Green).
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As for Lynch, it’s slightly more surprising to see him get the chop this early. Signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent out of Bowling Green in June, Lynch offers an interesting skill set. When he was featured in our Patriots kick-off countdown series, I remarked that he could be a good addition to the practice squad.
While that’s still a possibility, it’s more likely that Lynch will get picked-up within the next few weeks to at least be a camp body for some team.
Things look pretty grim for Cox. At age 28, he’s bounced around Ravens, Vikings and now Patriots training camp over the past two summers. He spent all of last season on the couch; it looks like that could be the case again this year.
Other than Ryan and Butler, Green was the only other former Patriot in this group of cornerbacks vying for roster spots in training camp. Don’t be surprised if the Pats re-sign Green at some point in the future because of his knowledge and familiarity in the Patriots’ defensive system.