Patriots 53-man roster: Where Pats still need help after cuts, claims

The Patriots should not be finished amending their roster after Tuesday s roster cuts and Wednesday s waiver declares and practice squad signings They should continue to scour the waiver wire for expected post-cutdown additions and keep calling teams about trades Greater part trades occur before roster cuts but there are several high-profile names still available At the very least the Patriots should be adding players to their practice squad who didn t spend the summer in Foxboro So far of the practice squad players spent training camp with the Patriots Related Articles Patriots add ex-Chiefs run stuffer to practice squad cut rookies New Patriots QB Tommy Devito got his wish coming to New England Patriots Kyle Dugger Anfernee Jennings react after not being traded Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez misses another practice with days left until the opener Patriots unveil new NFL Nike Rivalries alternate uniforms Since cuts the Patriots claimed quarterback Tommy DeVito Giants and slot cornerback Charles Woods Rams Here are five more spots they try to address with an outside addition Tight end fullback Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper are a great veteran - punch The Patriots have Jack Westover as their third tight end Westover brings positional versatility and looked dependable as a fullback in the preseason But he s a bit of a tweener at tight end He wasn t overly productive as a pass-catcher this summer and he s a little undersized to be a people mover as a blocker at tight end or fullback He s good depth either on the -man roster or practice squad but the Patriots should be looking for a tight end in the mold of a Matthew Mulligan or Michael Williams or Dwayne Allen who can really move chosen bodies around in the run battle Fullbacks are tougher to find since the greater part college teams don t use them The Patriots might need to get creative by finding a college linebacker or undersized defensive tackle to groom on the practice squad Rookie tight ends CJ Dippre and Gee Scott Jr are both pretty similar to Westover They bring several probable but they lacked true standout moments this summer and the Patriots should be looking to upgrade at those spots where players didn t necessarily decisively win a role Offensive tackle The starters are set with Will Campbell and Morgan Moses Rookie Marcus Bryant seems primed to be the swing tackle He added the flexibility to play right tackle this summer Beyond that the Patriots still have Vederian Lowe on their progressing roster and Jack Conley on their practice squad Look teams are cutting good tackles right now The players that teams can pick up in late August are Lowe and previous late-summer additions like Demontrey Jacobs and Tyrone Wheatley Jr But it wouldn t hurt to rifle through a few tackles and see if any of them can stick and provide better depth on the practice squad The Patriots are hoping they ascertained a steal in Bryant as a seventh-round pick Perhaps he can one day be Moses replacement Guard The Patriots gave Ben Brown Cole Strange Tyrese Robinson Sidy Sow Layden Robinson Mehki Butler and Caedan Wallace a ton of reps this summer at guard and the only guy who truly proved himself and earned a spot was Brown It felt like Wallace was kept around by default over the rest of the guards and it seems telling that the organization didn t even give him a shot to play tackle at all in training camp and preseason Offensive lineman Caedan Wallace of the New England Patriots during a July practice in Foxboro Photo By Matt Stone Boston Herald So guard feels like another spot where the Patriots could either keep scouring the waiver wire or taking a flier on a member on the practice squad Butler who never saw essential snaps on even the second-team unit was the only guard signed to the practice squad He has certain possible but if the Patriots truly saw real likely there then he would have been mixed in more with Brown Strange Sow and Wallace Linebacker The Patriots are looking for a different type of linebacker than other teams around the NFL They value athleticism smarts and physicality more than size The current group is just Robert Spillane Christian Elliss Jack Gibbens and Marte Mapu with Jahlani Tavai on injured reserve for at least the first four weeks of the season Mark Robinson is a newly signed backup on the practice squad He has games of experience with the Steelers We ll see if Robinson can earn playing time from the practice squad once he gets his feet wet with the Patriots Otherwise defensive coordinator Terrell Williams spent last season with the Lions and inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr was with the Giants last season Perhaps a performer in recent times cut from one of those squads could fill a depth need in New England Defensive tackle It seemed like the Patriots required to find a sixth defensive tackle to add to their roster Isaiah Iton was taking on first-team reps before injuring his hip against the Vikings and then the Patriots signed veteran defensive tackle Kyle Peko The Patriots have Milton Williams Christian Barmore Khyiris Tonga Joshua Farmer and Jeremiah Pharms Jr on their proceeding roster and Cory Durden Fabian Lovett Jahvaree Ritzie and the international sportsman pathway project s David Olajiga on the practice squad Ritzie and Olajiga had quiet summers and Durden and Lovett were just signed on Thursday Even Farmer didn t make a major impact as a fourth-round pick We ll see if Durden and Lovett can earn playing time with scout-team reps early this season Durden has eight games of NFL experience while Lovett spent last season on the Chiefs practice squad