The New England Patriots are a far cry from the team that won six Super Bowl titles during the Tom Brady era.

The 2023 season will be the fourth year without the legendary quarterback, and while head coach Bill Belichick is still a formidable leader, he's going to need to see quite a bit of improvement from his offense if the Patriots are going to get back to the playoffs and possibly challenge the Buffalo Bills for the AFC East title.

Actually, many NFL observers rank the Patriots behind the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets — now with Aaron Rodgers — in the AFC East.

However, the standard has been set in New England and the Patriots still have one of the best defenses in the league. Expect Belichick to ensure that the defense continues to set the standard and perhaps show improvement over the unit that ranked eighth in the NFL last season, giving up 322.0 yards per game.

This could be a relatively demanding training camp for Belichick and the Patriots. No, there will not be a return to 2-a-day-practices from generations past — that's no longer allowed in the NFL — but the Patriots must refine their roster and make sure it is improved over last year.

New England finished the season with an 8-9 record and were a third-place team in the AFC East. The offense was largely atrocious as it ranked 26th in the league with an average of 314.6 yards per game.

It will be difficult for some of the backups on the roster to make the team, and in this piece we look at 3 players who are likely to be cut before the start of the season.

Quarterback Trace McSorley

The Patriots saw enough from McSorley last year to sign him during the offseason. He was able to line up for the Arizona Cardinals in six games a year ago, and he even started one game.

The former Penn State quarterback completed 45 of 83 passes for 412 yards, but the touchdown to interception ratio does not indicate that he is the right man to line up at quarterback — even in a third-team role. McSorley did not throw a touchdown pass last year and he was intercepted five times.

Mac Jones is the No. 1 quarterback in New England, and he had an inconsistent season last year. However, the Patriots have made a huge changes in their coaching staff, as they have gotten rid of Matt Patricia and named Bill O'Brien as their offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. That should allow the Patriots to have a much smoother offensive operation.

Bailey Zappe seems to be a solid No. 2 quarterback, but the belief is that the Patriots will likely find a No. 3 quarterback as opposing teams make their roster cuts.

It seems unlikely that McSorley will inspire confidence and allow Belichick and  O'Brien to conclude that he could get the job done if he is forced into action.

Wide receiver Malik Cunningham

The Patriots may not be done with their roster additions at this point, as wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is still available and New England is considered a possible landing spot. If Hopkins were to sign with the Patriots, he would provide a tremendous upgrade to their WR crew.

It would also make it very difficult for Malik Cunningham to make the team. He signed with the Patriots as a rookie free agent, and that means that he is somewhat of a longshot to make the team. However, if they sign Hopkins, that improbability would become all but an impossibility.

Cunningham was a quarterback during his college career at Louisville, but he is listed as a wideout on the Patriots depth chart. He participated in New England's minicamp as a receiver, but he is clearly raw at the position.

While he is a talented athlete, the best that he can hope for is a spot on the practice squad.

Safety Joshuah Bledsoe

Bledsoe made the Patriots last year as a sixth-round draft choice from Missouri, and that was an accomplishment. However, Bledsoe only played in 3 games last year, and he was credited with one tackle — and that was an assist.

That's not much of a track record to go off of, and the Patriots will demand much more of him this summer. If he doesn't make a strong impression in the early part of training camp, it will be difficult for him to beat out Jalen Mills or Cody Davis in the secondary.

The 6-0, 200-pound Bledsoe does not appear to be a playmaker. He had one interception and one sack during his college career, and there's little reason to think he will help the Patriots improve.