The initial 53-man roster for your New England Patriots is set, but not in stone. Bill Belichick reportedly said in a recent interview, that it's 85-90% set when they get down to that 53-man deadline. That means as many as 8 places on the Final 53 are still up for grabs.
Adding to the pigskin calculus? The potential return of Demaryius Thomas as well as the pending return of Lance Kendricks and Ben Watson from suspension.
Yikes.
So, the obvious question then is, Where can the Patriots still get better?
New England would appear to be set at quarterback, running back, defensive tackle, linebacker, cornerback, safety, and kicking game specialists.
At defensive end, they look stacked but a quick note on that position group. Dietrich Wise, Jr. was a "last man in" on many of the roster projections from local pigskin pundits and bobbleheads and Shilique Calhoun may be hanging on for an IR/Return spot. I never understood the "fit" issue with Wise, or the notion that Belichick was returning to a base 3-4 (he isn't). Given what we saw from Calhoun I'm hoping he's going to avoid IR/R and be ready to go Week 1. Still, based on both the known knowns and the known unknowns, it shouldn't be a surprise to see Belichick pick up an edge defender in the not too distant future.
The Demaryius Thomas release and possible return provides yet more melodrama for Gunner Olszewski shippers like myself. More importantly, it would also be good to know if rookie first rounder N'Keal Harry will be ready for Pittsburgh. Still, a starting trio of Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, and Phillip Dorsett sounds pretty good but I'm a bigger Dorsett fan than most. Just in case, though, I hope Jakobi Meyers has been staying after class, studying for his chemistry final with Professor Brady.
As noted above, uncertainty continues to surround the tight end position, as it has since Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement. Along with the suspended tight ends, there's the fact we haven't seen Matt LaCosse for weeks due to a lower appendage injury. Then there's the additional intrigue of former Pats' tight ends A.J. Derby and Dwayne Allen hitting the waiver wire.
I guess Scott Chandler won't be walking through that door.
Kidding.
The Patriots may be set on the O-Line but with David Andrews heading to IR, Isaiah Wynn about to line up for his redshirt freshman season, and Marcus Cannon's injury history, it's hard to feel totally good with this position group, despite the tranche of reinforcements brought to Foxborough via trade in the last few days. Jermaine Eleumunor, Korey Cunningham, and Russell Bodine are undoubtedly better than Dan Skipper, Cole Croston, and Tyler Gauthier but that's setting the bar rather low.
Having said that, here's hoping the Patriots are done making moves on the offensive line. If Wynn lives up to his draft status, Cannon starts 14+ games, and Bodine pushes for a starting role at center (I like Karras but I like him best as the swing G/C backup), all my hopes and dreams of a dominant running game from the Patriots can still come true.
As all good citizens of Patriots Nation know, though, there really is no such thing as a final 53-man roster with Bill Belichick. He's always trying to improve the roster. If you're not consistently on the game day 46, you need to know your position on the team is at risk.
We'll see how it goes.
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