New England Patriots Players on Notice After 2016 Offseason Roster Moves

With so many moves shaking up the New England Patriots roster, things are bound to look a little different on the field in 2016. 

Some players who have been an important part of the team may be facing the possibility of a diminished role. The players listed here are those who play positions where things are beginning to feel a little crowded, and therefore jobs may be at stake.

Make no mistake: Nothing is set in stone. There are still more than three months standing between the Patriots and the beginning of the regular season. Things could trend either way between now and then—new acquisitions might not pan out the way Patriots head coach Bill Belichick envisions, and/or incumbents may perform better than they have in previous years.

The following players fall into the latter of those two categories.

Aaron Dobson

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

The Patriots have taken the volume approach at many positions over the years, but none more than the wide receiver position. This offseason, they added four wide receivers who all have a legitimate chance to make the roster—and that's in addition to the two roster locks they already had in Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola.

Between veterans Chris Hogan and Nate Washington, and rookies Malcolm Mitchell and Devin Lucien, the Patriots have more options at wide receiver headed into training camp than in any of the past five years. The person who appears to be most directly affected by this is Aaron Dobson.

That's especially true given the fact that many of the receivers they've added have been in a similar mold to Dobson as a boundary receiver. At 6'3" and 205 pounds, Dobson was unique for his size on the Patriots roster until guys like Hogan, Washington and Lucien came in sporting frames of nearly the same size. Dobson's chances aren't made any better by the fact that he doesn't contribute much on special teams. 

There are a lot of hurdles in Dobson's way as he attempts to start a redemption tour that kicks off in spring practices.

Tre' Jackson/Shaq Mason

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As a scouting consultant, Dante Scarnecchia had a hand in evaluating rookie guards Tre' Jackson and Shaq Mason before they were drafted by the Patriots in 2015. But between the time they were drafted and the time Scarnecchia came back as the team's offensive line coach, something must have changed.

The Patriots went on a binge for guards this offseason that included a trade and two draft picks. By trading defensive end Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals for a second-round draft pick and guard Jonathan Cooper, the Patriots added a talented veteran to the lineup. When the 2016 NFL draft rolled around, the Patriots added two more guards in Joe Thuney (third round) and Ted Karras (sixth round).

And that's not even accounting for veteran Josh Kline, who signed a two-year, $3.5 million contract extension in November. 

According to Pro Football Focus, Jackson and Mason earned the 42nd and 62nd overall grades, respectively, at their position in 2015. With so many other options available to the Patriots, Jackson and Mason cannot afford a repeat of that performance this year if they want to keep their jobs. 

Also remember that the two linemen are entering their second year, and therefore both are still eligible for the practice squad. If the Patriots feel that there are linemen who are more ready to contribute as starters right now, they could always stash one or both of their second-year guards on the practice squad until a roster spot opens. 

Alan Branch

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

The Patriots didn't lose many big-name players this offseason, but the ones they did lose were mostly at defensive tackle. Between Akiem Hicks, Sealver Siliga and Dominique Easley, New England bid farewell to a pretty significant chunk of its depth on the interior of its defensive line. One would think that would bode well for a veteran like Alan Branch, who has performed well in spot duty for the Patriots.

However, with the additions of veteran Terrance Knighton as a free agent and rookie Vincent Valentine in the draft, the Patriots have taken measures to ensure that the defensive tackle position does not end up depleted as it did in 2013. And those were just the high-profile additions; the Patriots also added veterans Frank Kearse, Anthony Johnson and Markus Kuhn, and undrafted rookie Woodrow Hamilton.

Branch is talented enough to beat out those players, as he showed down the stretch in 2015 when Pro Football Focus gave him an overall grade of 2.4 or higher in each of the final five overall games (regular season and postseason). Branch did not miss a single tackle after Week 1, and 24 of his 29 total tackles were stops (a tackle that constituted an offensive failure). 

The other part of the equation, however, is the financial aspect. New England would lose $350,000 of Branch's salary if it cut him, but it would get back $2.4 million, according to OverTheCap.com. Releasing Branch might be a necessary move for a team that is strapped up against the salary cap with just $9.9 million of wiggle room.

Jimmy Garoppolo

Steven Senne/Associated Press

No, the Patriots are not going to cut Jimmy Garoppolo. It may even be a stretch to put Garoppolo on this list under the premise that he's been put on notice by the Patriots' addition of Jacoby Brissett in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft.

That being said, it's important to note that Garoppolo has next to no NFL experience, aside from some garbage-time kneeldowns and a grand total of 31 pass attempts in his two professional seasons. Granted, that's 31 more professional pass attempts than Brissett, but it serves as a reminder that Garoppolo has not proved or earned anything yet. 

For all we know, Garoppolo and Brissett may be battling for the starting job this summer. It would be a huge undertaking for Brissett to learn the Patriots offense in the course of one offseason, and Garoppolo already has a lot of experience and practice reps in the system, but if the rookie can show more potential than the third-year quarterback, it's not out of the question. 

Also remember that Garoppolo's rookie contract expires after the 2017 season, making his Patriots future a little less certain.

Logan Ryan

Steven Senne/Associated Press

For all the consternation that surrounded the cornerback position headed into the 2015 season, it turned out to be not so disastrous. Thanks to the performances of Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan—both of whom allowed less than 60 percent completions into their coverage, according to Pro Football Focus—and the addition of Alabama cornerback Cyrus Jones in the second round, the position is now a strength.

Ryan enters the last year of his rookie contract as one of the top three cornerbacks on the roster. This distinction is more than enough to earn him a significant portion of playing time in 2016. 

The question, however, is what happens to him after his contract expires. The selection of Jones comes with an eye toward him becoming a featured cornerback in New England's defense. It's fair to say that he will be an important component on defense as a rookie, but the Patriots tend not to strap first-year players with a heavy workload unless necessary. 

When Ryan's contract expires, Jones will no longer be a rookie. This year will be a good barometer for how far Ryan has progressed since being drafted in the second round three years ago, but also for how his trajectory measures up next to Jones.

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