Patriots reportedly release four in advance of NFL’s 80-man roster deadline

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The New England Patriots have reportedly dwindled their roster down in advance of the NFL’s 80-man roster deadline on Tuesday.

Wide receiver Devin Ross, safety Malik Gant, long snapper Brian Khoury, and offensive lineman R.J. Prince were all released according to a report by Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald.

Ross, 26, was originally signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2018, and spent time with Tennessee and the Philadelphia Eagles before being signed to New England’s practice squad in October of 2019. In 2020, Ross once again was a member of the Patriots practice squad before being signed to a futures contract in January of 2021. He has no NFL game experience.

Gant, 24, was a late signing during the training camp, arriving on August 10th, following the release of running back Tyler Gaffney. Gant was originally signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2019, before landing on injured reserve with a leg injury, and eventually being released as a part of the teams first wave of cuts in 2020.

Khoury, 29, has bounced around not just the NFL, but many different football leagues. Stints in the XFL, CFL, and IFL made up the bulk of Khoury’s career, before he got a shot with New England on August 9th, after incumbent long snapper Joe Cardona went down with an injury. Khoury gained valuable playing time as he handled all snapping duties in the Patriots’ first two preseason games against the Washington Football Team and the Philadelphia Eagles, but with Cardona making his return to practice on Monday, Khoury’s spot was lost.

Prince, 26, is a veteran of three NFL seasons, spent with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. Originally signing with Pittsburgh as an undrafted rookie, Prince spent time on and off the Steelers’ and Ravens’ practice squads in 2018, 2019, and 2020. He was signed by New England on June 17th, 2021.

The Patriots’ roster currently sits at 82 players, including roster-exempt fullback Jakob Johnson. They will make one more roster move to get down to the limit before the NFL’s 4pm deadline.