It looks like the New England Patriots will be going dumpster diving on the waiver wire in the coming days.
After his team’s preseason finale against the Washington Commanders, Patriots coach Jerod Mayo said that New England will be “very active” on the waiver wire in the coming days.
Mayo was asked if he was concerned about his offensive line’s spotty play in the final preseason game. The first-year head coach turned the question around and said that he and VP of player personnel Eliot Wolf will be looking to improve at every position.
“I’m not concerned about the – well, look, I’m concerned about every position,” Mayo said. “I would say Elliot and myself and the rest of the staff, our job is to always look for better players. We’ll be very active on the waiver wire, there’ll be some good football players out there on the street.”
Coming off a 4-13 season and an offseason with few big splashes in free agency, the Patriots are considered to be in need of talent up and down the roster. That much is no secret.
As a result, New England will be looking across the league to see which players fall short of 53-man rosters and are hitting the market. To do that, the Patriots would have to trim their roster to below 53 players in order to add anyone via the waiver wire.
Last week, Wolf said that the Patriots’ scouting department is keeping a close eye on rosters across the league to see which players will be available. Currently, New England has the No. 3 spot on the waiver wire, meaning that have a good chance of landing a player they have their eyes on if he’s cut.
“Our scouting department right now, all they’re doing is just grinding through the preseason film, watching players, talking to other teams, seeing who might become available,” Wolf said. “Having a third claim spot is a good advantage, and we’ll be aggressive, I think.”
We’ll find out whether the Patriots can land any waiver wire bargains as we approach roster cutdown day on Tuesday. Teams have until 4 p.m. EST on Tuesday to cut their rosters down to 53 players.
