Three-plus years after utilizing a first-round decide on Cole Strange, the Patriots are slicing him. New England waived the previous starter, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports.
Exiting the offseason program, Unusual was believed to be leading the Pats’ left guard battle. That modified throughout coaching camp, and he’s among the many holdovers to have fallen out of favor with the Mike Vrabel-led teaching workers. Talked about as a potential surprise cut, Unusual will exit and depart the Pats with $3.9MM in useless cash.
Used at each guard and middle throughout his Patriots tenure, Unusual by no means justified Invoice Belichick‘s funding. Chosen twenty ninth total three years in the past, Unusual — seen as a attain on the time — ran right into a extreme knee damage in 12 months 2 and by no means finally acquired again on monitor. The Pats declined his fifth-year option in April.
Unusual suffered a torn patellar tendon in 2023, and the damage sidelined him for a lot of the 2024 season. When the Patriots introduced Unusual off their PUP listing final yr, he labored primarily at middle. Vrabel’s workers transitioned him again to protect this offseason, however New England noticed third-round decide Jared Wilson made a cost for the LG gig. Wilson seems set to type an all-rookie left aspect with first-round decide Will Campbell.
The Pats’ preliminary 53-man roster contains Ben Brown and swingman Caedan Wallace — a part of the staff’s 2024 left deal with merry-go-round — as inside backups behind Wilson and RG Michael Onwenu. Unusual will not be but a vested veteran, so he might be out there to assert by 11am CT Wednesday.
