Patriots’ biggest cutdown day surprises include keeping Kendrick Bourne, waiving Bradyn Swinson

The New England Patriots’ roster cutdown day came and went without any major moves being made. The much-speculated Kyle Dugger trade never happened, and the team also did not pull any shocking releases out of its hats.

And yet, there were still a few moves and decisions that caught us by surprise. Here are the six that stand out the most, featuring some input from the community.

Kendrick Bourne staying put

MacktheKnife
Agreed, dude hasn’t done anything in 2+ years, including camp, yet…roster.

With Josh McDaniels returning this offseason to coordinate the Patriots’ offense, there was some optimism that Kendrick Bourne might be able to return to the form he showed earlier in his tenure with the club; in 2021, with McDaniels running the show, he had the best season of his career and caught 62 passes for 877 yards and seven touchdowns in a combined 18 games.

However, Bourne had a quiet training camp before departing the Patriots’ in-stadium practice on Aug. 2 with an injury. At that point, he had not caught a pass from Drake Maye in competitive team drills. His continued absence — he has not bee on the field since his injury — seemed to suggest he was headed off the active roster, either to injured reserve or the chopping block.

At least for now, he stays put.

Eight receivers on the 53

jt1918
The most surprising thing? They brought everyone back who finished the 2024 season at wide receiver. Bourne, Polk, Baker, Boutte, Douglas — that was universally viewed as a horrific wide receiving squad. But throw in a UDFA, a 30+ year old coming off an ACL tear, and a Bills reject, and suddenly that’s supposed to be good enough?

PatsHowYouDoIt
I think I’m most surprised that they kept 8 receivers and only 3 running backs. Isn’t Rhamondre a little gimpy already?

Another reason why keeping Bourne on the roster was surprising was due to the fact that the team was quite deep at wide receiver to begin with. The top five spots on the depth chart all were set entering cutdown week, with Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins and third-round rookie Kyle Williams all locks to make the roster.

New England keeping three players alongside them — Bourne, Javon Baker, Efton Chism III — was not expected. As a consequence, the team finds himself a bit lighter in other spots such as running back.

Jack Westover making the team

On the one hand, second-year tight end Jack Westover emerged as the Patriots’ top fullback following the season-ending injury suffered by rookie Brock Lampe. On the other hand, his performances as a whole this summer — including catching only one 5-yard pass in three preseason games — were nothing to write home about.

And yet, New England opted to keep Westover on the team as its third tight end behind starters Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper. Realistically, he will serve as fullback, but he only played that position for 19 of his 65 total preseason snaps.

Caedan Wallace beating out Cole Strange

WelshPatriot.
Cole Strange. Is he still struggling with that terrible injury he had. The NFL is just brutal and ruthless.

A first-round draft pick in 2022, Strange started a combined 27 games over his first two seasons in the league. However, a major knee injury suffered in December of his sophomore campaign disrupted his career and kept him off the football field for 12 months. His comeback attempt was short-lived: even after starting training camp as the top left guard, he found himself buried on the depth chart rather quickly.

Strange being let go was in itself not a surprise given his swift fall from grace. The team keeping Caedan Wallace over him, however, was not necessarily the expected outcome. Wallace, after all, had moved from tackle to guard this offseason but unlike his more experienced teammate offered no real versatility along the interior line.

That difference between the two seemed to have pointed at Strange getting the upper hand. Mike Vrabel and company obviously disagreed with that assessment.

Bradyn Swinson getting cut

vt535
Bradyn Swinson seems like a surprise, too–almost all the projections recently had him making the roster, and he was considered a steal in the fifth round. Any intel about that decision?

Two weeks into preseason, we considered Swinson a lock to make the roster. A fifth-round draft pick earlier this year, he showed flashes as a pass rusher in training camp and appeared to be an able rotational player to have at a position where depth is of the utmost importance. Unlike veteran Anfernee Jennings, the arrow appeared to be pointing up for the rookie.

And yet, Jennings ended up on the team; the same is true for undrafted free agent Elijah Ponder. Swinson, on the other hand, found himself cut.

Why did that move happen, which in a vacuum might have been the most surprising on Tuesday? The Patriots seemingly preferred Jennings’ abilities as a run blocker as well as Ponder’s special teams upside over Swinson; the latter also was less consistent than the other two. With only so many spots allocated to the edge relative to other positions on the roster, the LSU product ended up the odd man out.

Kyle Dugger being kept around

Bits_of_Real_Panther
Now that I have had an hour or so to digest it I would agree about Bourne. Keeping Dugger is a surprise but Vrabel may have felt like he had no better ideas for that roster spot and cutting him saves no money. Still if they played a game next weekend you have to think Dugger would be among the inactives

It started with a handful of reps in three-safety packages and ended with him lining up exclusively with the scout team. Kyle Dugger’s sixth NFL training camp was a disappointment given his status as a longtime starter and, at times, Pro Bowl-caliber player in New England’s secondary.

As a result of his demotion, trade speculation followed Dugger over the last two weeks. And while teams did indeed call the Patriots to find out if a move was possible, his contract more than anything prevented the 29-year-old from getting traded. It also looks like a primary reason why he was not simply released either after no trade partner was found.

And so, Dugger is still a part of New England’s active roster. For how long and in which capacity remains to be seen.