2018 Patriots roster cuts: Quick-hit thoughts on the Patriotsr17; initial 53-man roster The New England Patriots have cut down their roster under the 53-man regular season limit through a series of transactions over the last two days. While more moves will follow soon r11; the Patriots only have 52 players signed at the moment Shaq Mason Jersey , after all r11;, we now have a first roster to work with and analyze. Letr17;s do just that.The Patriots need to add at least one more wide receiverAs things stand right now, wide receiver is the lightest position on the team: after cutting Riley McCarron and placing Julian Edelman and Braxton Berrios on reserve lists, New England currently has only three pure wide receivers under contract. Expect New England to add at least one more body over the next few days to offer depth alongside the top trio, Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett and Cordarrelle Patterson.The offensive line and safety positions could also see reinforcementsWhile not as glaring a need as wide receiver depth, New England could look at its offensive line and safety spots as other positions in need of more bodies. While the Patriots might look to the waiver wire or open market to find another offensive tackle, they may already have a backup safety on their team: cornerback Jason McCourty has seen plenty of snaps at the position over the past two weeks and could serve as the number four safety if need be. It would also not be a surprise, though, if the Patriots brought in another safety from the outside.New Englandr17;s defensive edge looks deep on paperLast year Cheap Stephen Gostkowski Jersey , the Patriots had to rely on in-season signings Eric Lee and James Harrison to provide depth along a defensive edge that was lacking just that. This year, the group looks much better with Trey Flowers and Adrian Clayborn as the top options, and Derek Rivers, Deatrich Wise Jr. and Keionta Davis behind them. On paper, New England has been able to address one of the major weaknesses of 2017.Another undrafted rookie makes the teamTraining camp standout J.C. Jackson has survived roster cutdowns, which means that another undrafted rookie free agent has been able to make the team. 2018 will therefore be the 15th straight season that a player who did not hear his name called during the draft has made it through cutdown weekend and onto the initial 53-man squad. Whether or not Jackson can establish his presence on the team remains to be seen, but the early signs certainly were encouraging.There are few surprises on and off the teamWhile the Patriots made plenty of moves over the last two days, there were not a lot of unexpected developments ones among them. The release of Cyrus Jones and the Jordan Richards could be qualified as minor surprises, as could Geneo Grissom making the team and New England opting to go with just three pure wideouts. Ultimately, however Cheap Malcom Brown Jersey , there were no real shockers among the Patriotsr17; transactions.Details released on Dwayne Allenr17;s revised contract with the Patriots On Saturday morning, the Boston Glober17;s Ben Volin provided the details behind Dwayne Allenr17;s restructured agreement to remain with the Patriots through the 2019 season.Here is how it breaks down:While this finalization of Allenr17;s restructure is sure to bring some closure internally to a contract situation that has been looming all offseason, its 2018 cap savings of $1.125 million does little to satisfy the portion of the Patriotsr17; fan base intent on eradicating all player personnel from the roster where a misalignment of publicly-perceived value and dedicated salary cap resources exists. Very plainly, the restructure signifies two things:With the Patriots utilizing two or three tight end sets around 27% of the time in 2017, Bill Belichick clearly views Dwayne Allenr17;s physicality along the line of scrimmage as a premium asset r12; one that cannot simply be replaced with a rotating carousel of street free agents and practice squad call-ups. Not only did the restructure take advantage of less than 25% of the maximum potential 2018 cap savings ($4,527,095) that couldr17;ve been achieved by cutting Allen and replacing him with a player earning a $480,000 minimum salary, but the playing time and receptions-based incentives (details currently unspecified) allow Allen to earn back the $1.5 million in lost salary. $375,000 of those incentives are reportedly categorized as likely to be earned already. Presumably http://www.patriotscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-stephon-gilmore-jersey , this is for participating in more than 40% of the teamr17;s offensive snaps this season r12; a feat Allen accomplished last year as he participated in 41.7% of such snaps. Should the veteran tight endr17;s 2018 season meet the required criteria to achieve the rest of his incentives, $1.125 million would be debited from the Patriotsr17;s 2019 adjusted team cap figure.This is still a one year and wer17;ll see deal. However, with a productive 2018 season, another impending r0;pay cutr1; situation r12; much like the one experienced this offseason r12; could repeat itself in the summer of 2019. While itr17;s almost a certainty that Allen will not be playing next season with a cap figure of $7.4 million, the Patriots could choose to pick up his $500,000 roster bonus in March with the hopes that another agreement could be reached before the regular season.Follow Brian Phillips on Twitter @BPhillips_SB
