Patriots: 5 players who won’t be on the roster by Week 1

4. Josh Uche, outside linebacker

The Patriots took Uche 60th overall in the 2020 draft, then he spent the first half of his rookie season on IR with a foot injury. He had one sack with 10 pressures and seven quarterback knock-downs over 178 snaps of action (nine games), so there appears to be something there.

In an effort to bolster their pass rush, the Patriots ponied up to sign Matt Judon and reunited with Kyle Van Noy after the Dolphins cut him. The drafting of Ronnie Perkins in the third round further pushed Uche down the depth chart.

Bailing on a Day 2 draft pick a year in might be a little short-sighted. But Belichick runs a calculated operation, and he’s clearly not banking on anything from Uche this year and a decision to cut him will ultimately be easy.

3. N’Keal Harry, wide receiver

Years of missing in the draft on wide receivers seemed to come to a head with Harry in 2019 for the Patriots, as they apparently passed on A.J. Brown and Deebo Samuel to take him. He started his rookie season on IR due to an ankle injury and has been banged up otherwise, but over two seasons (21 games) he has just 45 catches for 414 yards and four touchdowns.

Harry was clearly available earlier this offseason, as New England fielded calls and at least one team (Washington) was named with interest.

Perhaps a change of scenery will revive Harry’s career. He has been bumped down the depth chart in New England. Cutting him would leave behind mostly dead money on a cap hit of less than $3 million, and a trade would create a bit of cap room. In any case, Harry should be packing his bags fairly well in advance of Week 1.