After the Patriots' preseason opener against the Texans, here are three potential players New England could cut.
The New England Patriots suffered a 20-9 loss to the Houston Texans in their first preseason game of the year.
Gillette Stadium was brimming with fans waiting to see which rookie or underrated gem would shine the most in semi-competitive action, and there were some much-too-early takeaways from this preseason game.
As expected, the Pats benched most of their starters on both sides of the ball, but still, fans may have been expecting a little more oomph, especially considering last season's dull offensive outings. Out with Matt Patricia, in with Bill O'Brien, but still a lot of the same old tricks.
Is it too early to cut players from the roster? Yes, yes it is. Are we still going to do it? Yes, yes we are.
Here are three Patriots cut candidates after Week 1 of preseason.
Patriots Week 1 preseason cut candidate No. 3: Kevin Harris, RB
The most glaring takeaway from Week 1 of the Pats' preseason was this: Boy, does the team need an RB2. (Of course, the caveat is that the Patriots rested their offensive line starters, and the backups had a rough night in the trenches.)
Behind Rhamondre Stevenson, a handful of running backs took the field on Friday night. None of them impressed. 2022 sixth-rounder Kevin Harris had eight carries for 10 yards, 2022 fourth-rounder Pierre Strong had six carries for 21 yards, and J.J. Taylor had four carries for four yards.
Overall, an abysmal first tryout for the backup ball-carrier role. New England may seriously consider pursuing a veteran running back (i.e. Zeke) after this game, at which point one of the underperformers would have to get booted off the roster.
Given the flashes we saw of Kevin Harris, we weren't too impressed with his effectiveness in short-yardage work, which would most likely be the brunt of his duties in 2023. Harris' big frame should give him an advantage in powering through piles, yet he got stopped short a few times at the line of scrimmage and ran with less juice and pizzazz than, say, Pierre Strong.
Back in college, Harris enjoyed the most success at South Carolina behind a fullback in a power scheme, a much different offense compared to the Pats. Week 1 of preseason proved Harris doesn't look too comfortable in New England and could be one of the first to pack his bags.
Patriots Week 1 preseason cut candidate No. 2: Trace McSorley, QB
Who wants an over-the-top knee-jerk reaction? Here it is.
Cut Trace McSorley. We've seen enough from Malik Cunningham.
Tank Dell stole the show for the Texans, but Cunningham stole it for the Patriots. Entering Week 1 of preseason, Cunningham was arguably the odd man out with the more experienced Trace McSorley primed to take the QB3 position.
In the sparse minutes that the ex-Cardinals quarterback played, he didn't do much: he went 1-for-3 for four yards and took one sack.
Cunningham, on the other hand, made the fans ooh and aah and brought a sleepy Pats offense back to life.
Halfway through the fourth quarter, the undrafted rookie took over and started to cook — yes, he was cooking a back-of-the-roster Texans defense, but he cooked nonetheless.
Cunningham finished with five carries for 34 yards (leading the running back room!) and one rushing touchdown; he went 3-of-4 for 19 yards. The media, as one can imagine, went haywire:
At the start of the offseason, Cunningham's primary position in New England was wide receiver. That's where he played for most of camp up until the days leading up to Thursday's preseason opener, when he started getting more quarterback snaps.
Why is this? We have absolutely no idea.
Whatever Bill Belichick's reason is for playing Cunningham under center, it worked, though the versatile gadget threat doesn't have a guaranteed spot on the 53-man roster yet. Still, all of Gillette Stadium would probably take Cunningham over McSorley after that dazzling first outing.
More fun and more games, please.
Patriots Week 1 preseason cut candidate No. 1: Kayshon Boutte, WR
Another offensive Pats player? You bet.
Admittedly, it may be a little too early to call time of death on this young buck. Wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, a sixth-round pick this past April, has hardly had enough time to get his feet wet.
The LSU product recorded two catches on two targets for 7 yards against Houston. We're less concerned about his production than we are about how long he was out there on the field. His direct competition, fellow rookie Demario Douglas got the starter treatment on Thursday night, playing just a few snaps between offense and special teams. Boutte took many more snaps than Douglas, usually a bad sign for his perceived position on the depth chart.
Assuming the Pats roster five wideouts into 2023, there's only space for Boutte or Douglas, not both.
Boutte had an acrobatic one-handed grab during training camp practice and needed to continue to impress for the Pats to justify keeping six wide receivers. We'd give Boutte a few more chances to prove his value in the coming weeks, but after Week 1 of preseason, it seems clear he's taking a backseat to Douglas. There's always the practice squad…
