Adios Ochocinco

1. The Patriots Release WR Chad Ochocinco
With the first major cut of the offseason (but the fourth of the day), the Patriots informed Ochocinco that they are parting ways. After a disappointing season last year, (15 receptions, 276 yards, 1 TD) Ocho did what he could to stick around, including taking a significant paycut, leaving $2M on the table. But with the return of players like Donte' Stallworth, Jabar Gaffney, and Deion Branch, receivers who have proven themselves in McDaniels' offense, this cut seemed inevitable. While he never blossomed as the receiver fans hoped he would be, Ochocinco acted like a true professional and a class act his entire time in New England. With the exception of the first game of the season last year, he never said anything that would grab a headline; and even after he was cut, his twitter account is filled with quotes like "Thoroughly enjoyed the oppurtunity to play for the "Patriot" organization... fans were fucking wicked awesome, I wish all of you the best..."

From a financial standpoint, the Patriots opened up about $2M in cap space this year, but put over $3M in dead cap space for the 2013 season. I'll get into this in a later post, but because the Patriots have so many players with expiring contracts this year they have a lot of cap space next year, but a lot of holes to fill as well.

2. Updated Salary Cap Page:
I have updated the salary cap page to reflect the changes to the roster since the draft.

The most notable signing in that time is RB Joseph Addai, the former Colt, who is added to the Patriots stable of running backs. There has been debate about just how many running/full backs the Patriots will keep this year with McDaniels' significant use of the screen game.

Notable cuts besides Ochocinco include: WR Anthony Gonzalez, the injury prone slot receiver who added insurance to the Welker situation, and DE/OLB Markell Carter. Carter was a star on the practice squad last year after being selected in the 6th round in the 2011 draft. Many expected him to make a significant improvement after he bulked up to 275 lbs, but with the signing of Trevor Scott and drafting of Chandler Jones and Jake Bequette, there seemed to be too many players ahead of him on the roster.

As of today, the Patriots currently have 87 players signed to the roster, and therefore, have 3 open spots to fill. Both DE Andre Carter and S James Ihedigbo, significant contributors to last years defense, remain unsigned, although both are recovering from injury this offseason.