There were a lot of questions surrounding the Patriots throughout the 2023 offseason, especially about their roster.
Some positions felt unaddressed or deemed not strong enough to be competitive in the division, which left many wondering how Bill Belichick would formulate the final 53-man roster for the upcoming season.
Like any team in the league, there were a few positions with players competing for a spot on the team, and the cutdowns seemed to settle those debates swiftly. However, along with the players that were retained, more questions arose from the players that were cut.
Several of the moves made by Belichick have proven to be risky, with the uncertainty that they will wind up being worth it, particularly in a pressure-filled season on not just the Patriots team itself but the head coach as well.
This is just four of the biggest gambles New England is undertaking with their roster for the season.
Going with rookies at kicker and punter
Although it wasn't the most shocking move of the roster cutdowns, Bill Belichick has entrusted a lot of special teams success on the shoulders of two rookies: Bryce Baringer and Chad Ryland.
Because the Patriots have struggled to find a reliable kicker in the wake of Jake Bailey's injuries and eventual release, it was apparent early on that Baringer wouldn't face much competition throughout the summer to win the job. So, no one batted an eye when he was the last punter remaining on the 53-man roster.
The news of Nick Folk being traded to the Titans caught some off guard.
There was an obvious kicker competition brewing throughout the offseason, as Belichick traded up to select one of the best kickers of the class in Ryland. Additionally, Folk's age was undoubtedly going to become a factor at some point, even though his performance last season was only slightly down from his usual impressive outings.
Judging how Folk and Ryland looked during the preseason, the consistency from the veteran was one of the biggest differences in their performances, other than Ryland having a deeper range with his kicks. Because of that, it was assumed Folk would, at the very least, be kept on the practice squad, especially since other recent kicker trades didn't yield much return.
Now that it's clear the rookie will be handling things this season, it's an unusual risk that Belichick is willing to take. As the team hopes to have a much improved special teams unit this year, with the added guidance of Joe Judge, Ryland will be pressured to perform accordingly, particularly with no kicker signed to the practice squad for insurance.
Barringer will face his fair share of pressure, too, but without anyone to follow from last season and Corliss Waitman being re-signed to the practice squad, he will likely have a bit more leniency than his fellow rookie teammate.
Keeping just two tight ends on the roster
Some of the least competitive positions throughout training camp and the preseason this year wound up being the running backs and tight ends.
After Jonnu Smith was traded and Mike Gesicki was signed, there was no question about who the top tight ends would be for the 2023 reason. But because the former Dolphin is not known for his blocking and will be primarily used as a jumbo wide receiver, who would be sitting behind him on the depth chart became more of the conversation this summer.
Throughout the last few weeks of practices, it didn't appear that any other tight end was performing well enough to earn that TE3 spot despite Gesicki being held out due to a shoulder injury. But because the offensive line has been a consistent weakness and Gesicki won't be used much as a blocker, it was assumed that Belichick would retain at least three tight ends.
But that didn't happen.
The four other tight ends on the roster all summer were cut, and just one was signed back to the practice squad. And one day later, veteran tight end Pharaoh Brown was also signed. This leaves just Gesicki and Henry on the main roster.
Could that be a mistake? Possibly, but time will tell.
...And just two running backs as well
The same question goes for the running back room.
Rhamondre Stevenson has always been the starter on the team, leaving all others competing for the backup role. It looked to be mainly between second-year players Kevin Harris and Pierre Strong Jr., but J.J. Taylor had stepped up in the preseason finale and gave the impression he may have finally won the job.
Then there was Ty Montgomery, who has dealt with injuries since he was signed last year, but because of his versatile skillset, it felt like he would be an easy roster lock.
A lot of that changed when Ezekiel Elliott was signed earlier in August. He immediately became the RB2 behind Stevenson, forming an iconic running back duo that the Patriots have been lacking. However, even with his addition to the team, it was unlikely that Belichick would go ahead with just two running backs on the roster.
And to our surprise, that's exactly what he's done.
First, he traded Strong Jr. to the Browns for an offensive lineman. Because of what the Patriots received in return, it wasn't an entirely shocking move. It was more surprising that the decision was made to move on from a promising second-year player.
Then came the roster cuts, which included all of the remaining running backs besides Elliott and Stevenson, thus ensuring the 53-man roster only carried two running backs.
Given the question marks surrounding Elliott's abilities at this point in his career and the higher risk of injury players at the position face, Belichick deciding to stick with just two runners is quite a risky move. It may end up working out, and they do have Harris and Montgomery on the practice squad in case it doesn't. But it's a significant gamble that the Patriots are apparently willing to go with.
Hoping that quantity over quality will work for the offensive line
The struggles of the offensive have been well documented over the last few years, and there was hope that Belichick would dive head first into addressing the unit in free agency and the draft. Of course, that hope was short-lived, as all of the top free agents signed elsewhere, and the Patriots didn't select a lineman in the draft until the fourth round.
Even though significant help wasn't brought in as far as players go, Belichick did make sure to swap out the coaching staff, which appeared to significantly impact the success of the line throughout the 2022 season.
The signing of Adrian Klemm was a breath of fresh air after watching the group struggle under the coaching of Matt Patricia last year. But even with Klemm's presence throughout the offseason, Patriots' quarterbacks have been running for their lives in practice and preseason games.
Several veterans have also been battling injuries, keeping them sidelined for much of the summer. And because of that, Belichick went on a mad dash as the roster cutdown deadline approached by trading for two offensive linemen at the very last minute.
The additions of Vederian Lowe and Tyrone Wheatley Jr. will definitely be helpful to fill out the depth chart, at the very least. However, New England's decision to wait until mere hours before the cutdown deadline to really address the most struggling unit all summer was a bit concerning.
It became even more evident that Belichick is hoping for quantity on the offensive line over quality. That doesn't mean the rostered players are not talented or won't perform well; there are certainly some great linemen on the team and a lot of hope for them collectively.
But because the head coach didn't address the problem sooner, it indicates the intention is to go into the season with more depth than in years past and hope that will at least mask most of the issues instead of solving them.