Thoughts on Patriots’ release of Rashaan Melvin, James Vaughters

Late yesterday afternoon, the New England Patriots announced the release of Rashaan Melvin and James Vaughters. In the wake of the Patriots’ haul of draft picks, these are not surprising moves, as both Melvin and Vaughters were largely deadweight on the roster.

In-depth: Patriots draft review and grades

The Patriots signed Melvin in mid-October, an acqusition that my co-editor Cyrus Geller called “the ultimate Bill Belichick troll move”. The three-year veteran of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens appeared in eight games for the Pats in 2015, recording three tackles as a cornerback and two on special teams. Melvin was often more of a liability than a contributor when he was in the No. 3 cornerback role.

Evaluating roster chances of Patriots draft class

As for Vaughters, the Patriots signed him after the Green Bay Packers released the Stanford product from their practice squad. Vaughters has yet to touch the field as a pro, and it looks like he won’t be seeing his first game action in New England.

What did Bill Belichick have to say after 2016 NFL Draft?

Again, these releases are not earth-shaking. The addition of Cyrus Jones made the cornerback depth chart that much more crowded, and with promising sophomore pro Darryl Roberts, veteran pickup E.J. Biggers and undrafted standout Justin Coleman in the picture behind roster locks Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan, it was hard to see Melvin making it past the first round of cuts anyway.

5 things you should know about Cyrus Jones

Similarly, a burgeoning crowd at linebacker has structurally pushed Vaughters out of the conversation. The additions of Kamu Grugier-Hill and Elandon Roberts through the draft made it virtually unrealistic that the unproven Vaughters would be able to slog through the competition.

Next: In-depth: Patriots draft review and grades

Stay tuned here on Musket Fire for more fresh points of analysis of the Patriots’ 2016 NFL Draft class.