The Bill Belichick era officially ended for the New England Patriots following the 2023 season. With the six-time Super Bowl winners finishing at 4-13, for their third losing season in the last four years of Belichick’s 24 year tenure as head coach, owner Robert Kraft fired him.
But Belichick’s legacy is still felt on the Patriots, and reportedly, new head coach Mike Vrabel — who played linebacker under Belichick for eight seasons and three Super Bowl victories — is making a systematic effort to erase it.
Now, according to a prediction from USA Today Patriotswire Patriots reporter Cam Garrity, Vrabel may cut a wide receiver who was the next-to-last draft pick Belichick ever made for New England.
Dropping 2023 Belichick Pick Would be ‘Shocking’
Demario “Pop” Douglas would be entering the third year of his four-year, $3.97 million rookie contract. The 2023 sixth-round pick, 210th overall, out of Liberty, has been a pleasant surprise for the Patriots, catching 115 passes for 1,182 yards over his rookie and sophomore seasons in New England.
Admittedly, Garrity wrote, dropping Douglas would be “shocking,” but his release “wouldn’t be about talent. It would be about fit, direction and managing a suddenly deep receivers room.”
Demario is receiving unexpected competition from Efton Chism III, an undrafted free agent signing out of Eastern Washington. According to observers at Patriots OTA and minicamp practices, Chism has Putin such an impressive show that he is now favored to survive the final cutdown and make the opening game 53-man roster.
“Keeping both Douglas and Chism would be redundant. Both are smaller slot receivers, and both would require designed touches to make a weekly impact,” Garrity wrote. “If the Patriots prefer to diversify their receiver archetypes — or save a roster spot for special teams — Douglas could become an unlikely trade candidate, or even a cut.”
Cutting ties with Douglas either through trade or outright release would bring the number of Belichick-era acquisitions on the projected 53-man roster from 17 to 16 — just 30 percent, even though Belichick ruled the franchise for more than two decades and has been departed for just one full season.
2 Years Later, Team is Just 30 Percent Belichick Player
Of course, the 53-man roster is far from finalized, so the number of Belichick drafted or signed players could drop even lower than 16. The total of 17 is based on Garrity’s projection on how the Patriots’ 53-man roster will end up.
Vrabel has been so committed to purging as many remnants of the Belichick era as possible, he even cut the team’s 10-year veteran long snapper, Joe Cardona, an active member of the United States Naval Reserve.
Cardona was the longest-tenured Patriot, but Vrabel replaced him by drafting a long snapper, Julian Ashby out of Vanderbilt, in the seventh round.
At the moment, the Patriots wide receiver room is standing-room only. No fewer than eight receivers are currently in camp with the team.
In addition to Douglas and Chism, the others are Stefon Diggs — a free agent acquisition and four-time Pro Bowl pick who appears to be a lock for the top wide receiver job; Kyle Williams, a 2025 draft pick; Mack Hollins, a free agent signing this offseason; Kayshon Boutte, another remnant of Belichick’s final draft who may also be in danger of being cut from the team; and Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, both taken in 2024 under then-coach Jerod Mayo.
