Who’s On Patriots Roster’ Bubble Entering Final Week Of Preseason?

The New England Patriots’ 2019 season is officially less than two weeks away, and they have some very difficult decisions to make in the next four days.

The Patriots’ final preseason game Thursday will give some clarity to how the Patriots view their roster. Those who are guaranteed spots will be held out and those on the bubble will get one final look.

In anticipation of the preseason finale and ensuing roster cuts, we’ve divided the Patriots’ roster into four categories: stone-cold locks, very near-locks, bubble and longshots.

We would be flabbergasted if any of these stone-cold locks are cut on or before Aug. 31:

STONE-COLD LOCKS (32)

QB Tom Brady

QB Jarrett Stidham

RB Rex Burkhead

RB Damien Harris

RB Sony Michel

RB James White

FB James Develin

WR Julian Edelman

WR N’Keal Harry

WR Matthew Slater

OT Isaiah Wynn

OT Marcus Cannon

G Joe Thuney

G Shaq Mason

C David Andrews*

OL Hjalte Froholdt

DE Michael Bennett

DT Lawrence Guy

DT Danny Shelton

OLB Chase Winovich

LB Kyle Van Noy

LB Dont’a Hightower

CB Stephon Gilmore

CB JC Jackson

CB Jonathan Jones

CB Jason McCourty

CB Joejuan Williams

S Devin McCourty

S Patrick Chung

K Stephen Gostkowski

P Jake Bailey

LS Joe Cardona

— Shelton and Jackson were our toughest inclusions. Ultimately, they’re a step above the next category.

*Andrews reportedly could miss the season with a blood clot in his lungs. If he makes the Patriots’ initial roster, he could be brought back after Week 8. If he’s placed on injured reserve at Saturday’s cutdown, then he would be out for the year.

We are very confident our very near-locks will be on the roster Week 1, but we wouldn’t bet the house:

VERY NEAR-LOCKS (14)

RB Brandon Bolden

WR Josh Gordon

WR Jakobi Meyers

TE Ryan Izzo

TE Ben Watson (suspended)

OL Ted Karras

DT Adam Butler

DT Byron Cowart

OLB John Simon

LB Ja’Whaun Bentley

LB Jamie Collins

S Terrence Brooks

S Nate Ebner

S Duron Harmon

— Gordon is on here because he’s such a question mark. What’s to say something doesn’t happen in the next four days?

— It would actually cost the Patriots cap space to cut Bolden. They did it last year albeit when he was in a much different situation contractually. That’s why he’s on here.

— We’re almost certain Bentley will be on the roster, but that inside linebacker position is deep which gives us pause.

— Collins is on here because he played Week 1 of the preseason while other roster locks didn’t.

That realistically leaves eight or nine spots open (accounting for Watson’s suspension and depending on Andrews’ situation) for the following players:

BUBBLE (25)

QB Brian Hoyer

FB Andrew Beck

WR Braxton Berrios

WR Phillip Dorsett

WR Gunner Olszewski

WR Demaryius Thomas

TE Stephen Anderson

TE Matt LaCosse

TE Lance Kendricks (suspended)

TE Eric Saubert

OT Cole Croston

OL James Ferentz

OL Tyler Gauthier

OT Dan Skipper

OT Tyree St. Louis

DE Deatrich Wise

DT David Parry

OLB Shilique Calhoun

OLB Derek Rivers

LB Calvin Munson

LB Elandon Roberts

CB Keion Crossen

CB Duke Dawson

CB Ken Webster

S Obi Melifonwu

— This is the group we’ll be watching closest Thursday night. If any of these players stay on the sideline, they’re almost certainly making the 53-man roster. If they play, then it means the Patriots need another look.

— We believe Wise, Roberts and maybe Dawson could be traded since the Patriots are deep at linebacker, cornerback and on their defensive line.

— We’d give the final eight spots to Hoyer, Dorsett, Thomas, LaCosse, Croston, Calhoun, Roberts and Crossen and trade Wise. If Andrews is placed on IR at cutdowns, then we’d put Gauthier on the roster, as well.

We’d be shocked if any of these 13 players made the initial 53-man roster:

LONGSHOTS

RB Nick Brossette

FB Jakob Johnson

WR Ryan Davis

WR Damoun Patterson

OT Martez Ivey

OT Cedrick Lang

DE Ufomba Kamalu

DT Nick Thurman

OLB Trent Harris

LB Terez Hall

LB Christian Sam

LB Scooby Wright

S Malik Gant

S A.J. Howard

— Johnson belongs in a different category since the Patriots can use an additional 11th spot on the practice squad to keep him around as an international pathway program player.

Expect these players to start the season on the reserve lists. They’ll be eligible to return in Week 7.

PUP/NFI (2)

WR Cameron Meredith

OT Yodny Cajuste