New England Releases Veteran the Day After Victory

On Thursday, New England claimed Christian Elliss off waivers. Since the Patriots were playing on Thursday Night Football, the transaction did not take effect until today. Once it did, somebody needed to be removed from the 53-man roster to make room for Elliss. On Friday, veteran Ty Montgomery became that casualty. The Patriots released Montgomery a day after their 21-18 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Montgomery is in his ninth NFL season. He joined New England as a free agent on Mar. 19, 2022. He played his first four seasons with Green Bay, who made his their third round selection (No. 98 overall) out of Stanford in the 2015 NFL Draft. After his time with the Packers, Montgomery played for the Ravens, Jets, and Saints, before signing with the Patriots.

Having played running back, wide receiver, and special teams in his career, Montgomery’s versatility was appealing to Bill Belichick. He impressed in 2022 training camp. Unfortunately, Montgomery missed nearly the entire season. He injured his shoulder in New England’s season opener. The Patriots placed him on injured reserve for the rest of the year.

The Patriots released Montgomery on the final roster cutdown of 2023. They brought him back the following day, signed to their practice squad. Nine days later, New England added Ty Montgomery to the 53-man roster, where he had remained until his release.

Ty Montgomery had not contribute much to the Patriots offense this season. With Rhamondre Stevenson out, Montgomery got his third carry all season against the Steelers, and took it for a seven yard gain. His first reception against Pittsburgh picked up 11 yards, but he had negative-two yards on his other two targets (one reception) thanks in part to a bobble.

Montgomery received praise earlier this week for his special teams work. He was New England’s highest graded special teams player by Pro Football Focus in their Week 13 game against the Los Angeles Chargers. But on Thursday Night Football, poor blocking by Montgomery contributed to a blocked punt by Pittsburgh.

It is possible the New England Patriots will try to sign Ty Montgomery to their practice squad, as they have already done with several others this season.