Patriots Daily: Practice Squad Openings; Three Tryout in Foxboro

The New England Patriots find themselves with three openings on their practice squad. Last week the Patriots released PK Matthew Wright. The Dolphins signed LB/ST Calvin Munson to their 53-man roster off the Patriots practice squad that same day. Malik Cunningham became the third departure yesterday. He joined the Ravens 53-man roster, creating a third opening in New England. As of now, none of those spots have been filled.

This is notable for two reasons. First, it makes sense to have a full practice squad, for practice purposes alone. But also, many practice squad players sign future contracts with the team. This enables the New England Patriots to retain the player’s rights in the offseason and for 2024. Recently released RB/WR Ty Montgomery auditioned for the New Orleans Saints yesterday, so he is unlikely to be returning.

New England has had several tryouts in recent weeks, so they should have plenty of options to choose from. The team hosted three more players yesterday.

Kendall Hinton, WR (Wake Forest/Broncos)

Hinton has spent his entire NFL career (2020-2022) with the Denver Broncos. He was a college quarterback at Wake Forest that converted to wide receiver. During hi rookie year, Hinton was thrown into emergency QB duty, due to the entire quarterback room of the Broncos being exposed to COVID. Hinton amassed 39 receptions for 486 yards and a touchdown in his two full seasons at wide receiver in Denver. He was released on the Broncos final cutdowns this season.

Touchdown, Kendall Hinton! Remember him? #BroncosCountry

📺: #DENvsPIT on FOX
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/KH7CbAbkIc

— NFL (@NFL) October 10, 2021

E.J. Perry, QB (Brown/Jaguars)

The Andover, Mass. native played for Andover High and Boston College, before transferring to finish his collegiate career at Brown. Perry won the Bushnell Cup, as 2021 Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year. In 10 starts, he passed for 3,033 yards and 23 touchdowns in 10 starts. He also rushed for 402 yards and seven scores. Jacksonville as a UDFA following the 2021 NFL Draft. Perry has spent time with both the Jaguars and Texans, but has yet to appear in an NFL game.

C.J. Saunders (Ohio State/Panthers)

Saunders opted to become a graduate assistant at Ohio State after not being selected in the 2020 NFL Draft. But a year later he made a return to playing, signing with the Carolina Panthers practice squad. He appeared in two NFL games for the Panthers in 2021, catching two passes for 11 yards. This year he signed with the Falcons practice squad on Aug. 31. He remained there until his release on Oct. 11.

Also today in Patriots Daily: Justin Herbert’s season is over; Dolphins lose starting center for the year; QB change in Minnesota; and more…

New England Patriots

Patriots Football Now – End of the Malik Cunningham Era in New England

Patriots Football Now – Trent Brown critical of New England after Cunningham’s release

AFC East News

ESPN – Lawsuit dropped against Matt Araiza, former Buffalo Bills draft pick

CBS Sports – Miami Dolphins lose starting center Connor Williams for the season

NewYorkJets.com – Jets QB Zach Wilson named AFC Offensive Player of the Week

NFL News

NFL.com – Chargers QB Justin Herbert to miss the rest of 2023 after surgery

Yardbarker – Nick Mullens is the Minnesota Vikings new starting QB

PFN+ – 2024 NFL Draft Previews

Boston Bruins

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Fun Fact of the Day

Minnesota Vikings QB Nick Mullens and Los Angeles Chargers QB Easton Stick will start their first games of the season this week. That will make 57 different starting quarterbacks in the NFL in 2023. That is well off from the record however. In the 1987 strike season, there were 87 different starting quarterbacks. The most in a non-strike season was set in 2022 with 69.

Tweet of the Day

Today’s Tweet of the Day comes from FitzyGFY, with a friendly reminder that at least when Tom Brady complained, he had something to complain about…

The difference? Kadarius Toney was offsides. Rob Gronkowski was bear-hugged by Luke Kuechly. https://t.co/oNLJ2XXciD pic.twitter.com/y6iwBmomzk

— FitzyGFY 🍺 (brew checkmark) (@FitzyGFY) December 12, 2023