Patriots News: Jayden Daniels, Matthew Judon, Ty Montgomery and Rex Ryan
- Jayden Daniels would be a great QB for New England?
- Matthew Judon has the Zappe Fever
- Rex Ryan has waited a long time to criticize Bill Belichick this way
Ty Montgomery was seemingly punished with release for performance vs. the Steelers
The day after the Patriots won their first game since beating the Bills in Week 7, Bill Belichick made a roster move that wasn't too surprising but seemed to be a result of the game.
With Rhamondre Stevenson out with an injury, Ezekiel Elliott was made the primary running back, which led to Kevin Harris' elevation from the practice squad and Ty Montgomery's increased usage. Fortunately, Elliott carried the ground game on his back and recorded his best game since joining the team this summer, allowing the others to take a backseat for the night.
That allowed Montgomery to be used as a receiver in the game, recording just one reception for 17 yards on the night. But he ran into some issues while working with the special teams on Thursday night, missing a key tackle, which led to the blocked punt.
It allowed the Steelers to take over at the Patriots' 26-yard line and score a touchdown within 90 seconds to bring the score within three points. It was a massive miss by Montgomery that could have been worse had the Patriots not won, but it seems Belichick didn't view it that way and released the running back/receiver on Friday morning.
It doesn't feel like a worthy punishment, but they did claim linebacker Christian Elliss off waivers, which could be more of the reason why Montgomery was released. But the timing of it still feels too coincidental not to be connected.