Patriots make their cuts - including Tebow
Saturday, August 31, 2013
There won't be any more hype surrounding Tim Tebow. And least not right now.
The New England Patriots announced they have released 13 players today to get to the league mandated 53-player roster for the regular season, and also placed veteran safety Adrian Wilson on injured reserve. The released veteran players include : QB Tim Tebow, DL Jermaine Cunnngham, DL Justin Francis, P Zoltan Mesko and LB Jeff Tarpinian.
Wilson, 33, joined the Patriots as free agent on this past March after 12-year career with the Arizona Cardinals.
The Patriots released one first-year player: DL Marcus Forston. They also released six rookie free agents: LB Ja’Gared Davis, S Kanorris Davis, DB Justin Green, OL Chris McDonald, DB Stephon Morris, WR Quentin Sims and RB George Winn.
Among the veterans released, Tebow's cut doesn't come as a tremendous surprise, even though there may have been some sentiment to keep him around. He's 26, is a veteran of three NFL seasons with Denver (2010-11) and the New York Jets (2012), and was signed by the Patriots on June 11, 2013. The 6-foot-3, 245-pounder has played in 35 NFL games with 16 starts and has completed 173-of-361 passes for 2,422 yards with 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He has also rushed for 989 yards on 197 carries with 12 touchdowns.
Mesko's release comes as a bit of a surprise, losing his job during training camp to rookie Ryan Allen. Mesko is 27 years old and a veteran of three NFL seasons after joining the Patriots as a fifth-round (150th overall) draft pick out of Michigan in 2010. The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder, has played in 48 games and had a 44.2-yard average.
Cunningham, 25, is a veteran of three NFL season after joining the Patriots as a second-round (53rd overall) draft pick out of Florida in 2010. The 6-foot-3, 252-pounder, played in 36 games with 14 starts and finished with 67 total tackles, 3½ sacks, one pass defensed, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Last season, he played in 12 games with three starts and two postseason games, finishing with 25 tackles, 2½ sacks and two fumble recoveries.
Francis, 24, made the Patriots roster last season as a rookie free agent out of Rutgers. The 6-foot-4, 270-pounder, played as a reserve in 10 games and finished with 10 tackles three sacks and one special teams tackle. Francis registered 3 sacks in the regular season finale vs. Miami on Dec. 30.
Tarpinian, 25, originally joined the Patriots as a rookie free agent out of Iowa on July 27, 2011, and has rotated between the practice squad and the 53-man roster over the last two seasons. The 6-foot-3, 240-pounder, has played in 10 NFL games with one start and has registered five total tackles on defense and eight tackles on special teams.
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