Signing you in

LinkThe roster movement continues across the NFL on Monday after teams trimmed their rosters down to 53 players on Sunday. With hundreds of transactions across the league, a significant portion of them — those with fewer than four accrued seasons in the league — were placed on the waiver wire: where teams have until 1 p.m. ET on Monday to put in claims in order to add them to their 53-man rosters.

The New England Patriots, who have the 31st spot in the waiver claim priority, have a full 53-man roster as of now. However, that roster will continue to be fluid over the upcoming days as they continue to search for depth upgrades.

With that being said, let’s take a look at 6 potential targets that would make sense.

The Patriots are set at wide receiver, but the team failed to find a kick returner this offseason. They rotated through several options in the preseason but did not have a return of at least 30 yards. Jones, meanwhile, has been a dynamic returner for the Bengals over the past three years, including a pair of kick return touchdowns. Is that enough to justify rostering seven wide receivers, or will the Patriots look to Kyle Williams to potentially fill the role?

Six cornerbacks were kept on the 53-man roster, with Charles Woods and rookies Karon Prunty and Channing Canada making the team. But the group’s play was inconsistent throughout the summer, perhaps leading the Patriots to look for depth elsewhere. In the AFC East, Bills cornerback Kani Walker was a bit of a surprise cut after a strong preseason and brings good size (6’2) to the boundary.

New England’s pass-rush group remains the weakest on the roster, as the Patriots kept just Gabe Jacas and Quintayvious Hutchins to back up Dre’Mont Jones and Elijah Ponder. Adding pass-rush help should be on the to-do list, and Isaac is expected to draw interest around the league. The 2024 third-round pick has dealt with injuries to begin his career but showed his potential with a strong preseason.

Elsewhere along the edge, the 27-year-old Williams has recorded 9.5 sacks across three seasons as a rotational pass rusher for the Cowboys. Williams missed all of 2024 with a torn ACL and was suspended for three games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. His physical, violent skill set should be appealing to New England, but he needs to improve his discipline.

The Patriots got a first-hand look at the Eagles’ roster this summer during a pair of joint practices and one preseason game. While Weru and Bernard are both project players as they are new to the game of football, the International Player Pathway Program players have intriguing skill sets and flashed at times this preseason. That included Weru recording a sack in the preseason game against New England, while Bernard is a freakish athlete along the interior of the defensive line.

Starting on Monday, NFL teams can build their practice squads. Here’s everything you need to know.

With New England’s 53-man roster set, here’s how each player originally arrived in Foxboro.

The Patriots removed several more players from their active roster on Sunday.

The initial 53-man roster of the Patriots’ 2026 season has been finalized.

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