The New England Patriots will be forced to make some tough roster cuts before the start of the 2025 NFL regular season, and every year, there are generally major surprises across the entire league. Could the Patriots ultimately make some shocking decisions before Week 1?
Cam Garrity of Patriots Wire feels it's a possibility, listing off three shocking potential roster cuts for New England as teams trim their depth charts down to 53 players.
Somehow, wide receiver DeMario Douglas made the list, thanks largely to undrafted rookie Efton Chism III crashing the party.
"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."
The general consensus has long been that Douglas is a lock to qualify for the team heading into 2025, even if the Pats have a logjam at wide receiver.
The Patriots currently have 12 players competing for six spots at the position, and outside of four-time Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs, there really isn't a sizeable gap between any of the other candidates.
Douglas is preparing to enter his third NFL season and is coming off of a 2024 campaign in which he caught 66 passes for 621 yards and three touchdowns, logging a 75.9 percent catch rate.
Is the 24-year-old an explosive playmaker? Not exactly, but he has proven to be a reliable pass-catcher and has already developed into one of Drake Maye's favorite targets. That matters.
Perhaps New England could gauge trade interest in Douglas, which certainly seems more likely than the Pats outright cutting him. But chances are, the former sixth-round pick will be on the field for the Patriots in the season opener.
