The New England Patriots are hoping that a new coach brings them new results this fall. Jarod Mayo is out as the head man in New England and Mike Vrabel is back to Foxborough where he spent so much of his playing career.
There is no question that the Patriots had a lot of holes to fill this offseason, but on Tuesday it came time for them to finalize their official 53-man roster and make their final cuts after the preseason.
Of course, like is the case with most teams, most of those cut were expected. Not everyone from the preseason can make the Week 1 roster, and a lot of those guys are just getting tape in hopes that they can find a home with another team.
However, there were some cuts that were very surprising around the league, and the Patriots had a couple of eye-openers as well. One decision stood above the rest as one of the most stunning decisions in the entire league.
Patriots release IOL Cole Strange
Cole Strange, who has been a mainstay on the interior of the Patriots' offensive line over the past few seasons, was stunningly released by New England on Tuesday as one of the final cuts before Vrabel and company got down to 53 guys.
Strange was one of the most surprising picks back in the 2022 NFL Draft, when the Patriots selected him seemingly out of nowhere with the No. 29 overall pick. Coming into that draft, Strange was thought of as maybe a late pick on day two, but more likely a day three pick, and Bill Belichick turned heads with the selection.
Not many people had heard of strange coming out other than the true diehards in college football and the NFL Draft space. The Chattanooga product was largely unheard of until the Patriots made that surprise selection back in 2022.
Strange started in all 17 games in his rookie year back in 2022, playing primarily at left guard for the Patriots. However, he only played in 10 games in 2023 at both center and guard before suffering a serious knee injury late in the season that forced him to rehab all offseason long.
Strange ended up missing the start of the 2024 campaign and was sidelined for most of the season with the injury. With Belichick, who was clearly Strange's biggest backer in New England, gone and Jerod Mayo in, he didn't get back on the field until the very end of the season where he made two starts.
Now, the entire staff has been overhauled in New England after Mayo was fired following just one season as head coach. While Vrabel has a lot of familiarity with the Patriots and how they do things in New England, he was not there during any of Strange's years and does not have any ties to him.
Now, Strange is hitting free agency after being released by New England, and it appears that the knee injury is something that is hampering him a bit. Still, it was a big surprise to see someone that had such a big role in New England get let go before the season.
To start the season, it would appear that the Patriots are going with Garrett Bradbury at center and Caedan Wallace and Mike Onwenu at guard to protect Drake Maye. New England also has youngster Jared Wilson as a reliable reserve up front and also has Ben Brown as a backup, clearly deciding that they didn't need the services of Strange anymore.
