FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced today that they have released 32 players to reach the NFL-mandatory 53-man limit. The Patriots placed WR Julian Edelman, CB Cyrus Jones and 2017 third-round draft pick DE Derek Rivers on injured reserve. The Patriots also placed OL Andrew Jelks and DL Keionta Davis on the non-football injury/reserve list and 2017 third round draft pick OL Tony Garcia on the reserve/non-football illness list.

The Patriots released 11 veteran players: RB Brandon Bolden, OL Jamil Douglas, OL James Ferentz, RB D.J. Foster, LB Jonathan Freeny, DL Geneo Grissom, DL Woodrow Hamilton, OL Ted Karras, DL Darius Kilgo, TE James O'Shaughnessy and WR Tony Washington.

The Patriots released four first-year players: LB Trevor Bates, FB Glenn Gronkowski, WR Devin Lucien and WR K.J. Maye.

The Patriots released 17 rookies: DL Josh Augusta, DL Michael Bart, WR Austin Carr, TE Sam Cotton, RB LeShun Daniels, Jr., LB Brooks Ellis, WR Cody Hollister, DB David Jones, DB D.J. Killings, OL Jason King, DB Will Likely, OL Conor McDermott, DB Kenny Moore II, OL Max Rich, DB Jason Thompson, DB Damarius Travis and LB Nick Usher.

VETERAN PLAYERS RELEASED

Bolden, 27, was signed by New England as an unrestricted free agent on April 5, 2017. The 5-foot-11, 220-pounder was originally signed by New England as a rookie free agent on May 10, 2012. In five seasons, Bolden appeared mostly on special teams in 67 regular season games with six starts and totaled 203 rushing attempts for 845 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 46 passes for 366 yards and two touchdowns. Bolden played in 12 playoff games with two starts and rushed eight times for 19 yards and caught four passes for 37 yards.

Douglas, 25, was signed by New England to the practice squad on Oct. 18, 2016. The 6-foot-4, 308-pounder originally entered the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick (114th overall) of the Miami Dolphins out of Arizona State in 2015. He played in all 16 games as a rookie with six starts, four at right guard and two at center. He began the 2016 season on the Miami practice squad before signed to the 53-man roster on Sept. 29 and seeing action as a reserve in a Thursday Night game at Cincinnati. Douglas was released by Miami and re-signed to the practice squad before being released by Miami on Oct. 11, 2016.

Ferentz, 28, signed with New England as a free agent on May 18, 2017. The 6-foot-2, 285-pounder is a veteran of two NFL seasons with the Denver Broncos (2015-16). He originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Houston Texans out of Iowa in 2014 and spent his entire first season on the Houston practice squad. He was released by Houston on Sept. 5, 2015 and claimed off waivers by Denver on Sept. 6, 2015. Ferentz played in 14 games on offense and on special teams for Denver in 2014 and played in one postseason game during the Broncos' run to the Super Bowl 50 title, seeing action against New England in the AFC Championship Game. Last season, he played in seven games for Denver. He was released by the Broncos on May 10, 2017.

Foster, 24, was originally signed by the Patriots as a rookie free agent out of Arizona State on May 6, 2016 and made the 53-man roster out of training camp. The 6-foot, 195-pounder was released from the 53-man roster on Nov. 28, 2016 and signed to the practice squad on Nov. 20, 2016 before re-joining the 53-man roster on Dec. 3, 2016. He played in three games and accrued 24 yards rushing on seven attempts and caught one pass for 2 yards.

Freeny, 28, signed with New England as an unrestricted free agent on March 12, 2015. The 6-foot-2, 254-pounder is a veteran of five NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins and Patriots after originally joining the Dolphins as a rookie free agent in 2011 out of Rutgers and spending that season on the practice squad. He has played in 62 NFL games and has 68 tackles on defense and 29 special teams tackles. Last season, he played five games with four starts for the Patriots and registered 10 tackles and one pass defensed before being placed on Injured Reserve with a shoulder injury on Oct. 15, 2016.

Grissom, 25, was drafted by the Patriots in the third round (97th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma. The 6-foot-4, 265-pounder has appeared in 25 games as a reserve over two seasons and registered six tackles on defense and five special teams tackles.

Hamilton, 24, was signed by the Patriots as a rookie free agent out of Mississippi on May 6, 2016. The 6-foot-3, 315-pounder began the 2016 season on the New England practice squad before joining the 53-man roster on Oct. 8, 2016. He appeared in two games with one start posted three tackles and was inactive for eight contests before being released on Dec. 21, 2016, and finishing the year on the practice squad. 

Karras, 24, was drafted by New England in the sixth round (221st overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-4, 305-pounder played in all 16 regular season games with one start and appeared in all three playoff games as a reserve. He started at right guard in the season opening win at Arizona (9/11/16).

Kilgo, 25, was claimed off waivers from Denver and awarded to the New England Patriots on Nov. 28, 2016. The 6-foot-3, 319-pounder did not appear in any games for New England and was released on Dec. 8, 2016 and joined the practice squad on Dec. 10, 2016. Kilgo was originally drafted by Denver in the sixth round (203rd overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. He appeared in 18 games as a reserve for the Broncos and totaled 11 tackles and one pass defensed before being released on Nov. 25, 2016.

O'Shaughnessy, 25, was acquired by New England in a trade on April 29, 2017. The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder is a veteran of two NFL seasons with Kansas City after originally joining the team as a fifth-round draft pick (173rd overall) out of Illinois State in 2015. He has played in 23 NFL games with six starts and has 8 receptions for 86 yards. Last season, he played in 16 games with three starts and finished with two receptions. He also tied for the NFL lead with Cincinnati tight end Tyler Kroft for most special teams tackles with seven among NFL tight ends.

Washington, 26, signed with New England as a free agent on July 27, 2017. The 5-foot-11, 195-pounder was originally signed by the Indianapolis Colts as a rookie free agent out of Appalachian State on May 11, 2014. He spent his rookie season on the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad in 2014 and began the 2015 season on the Jacksonville practice squad before being added to the 53-man roster on Sept. 26, 2015. In his two seasons with the Jaguars and multiple stints on the practice squad and 53-man roster, Washington appeared in six regular season games as a reserve and caught one pass for 9 yards. He also had one rushing attempt for 8 yards. Washington was released by Jacksonville on May 1, 2017.

FIRST-YEAR PLAYERS RELEASED

Bates, 24, was signed by New England to the practice squad on Nov. 7, 2016. The 6-foot-2, 247-pounder originally entered the NFL as a seventh-round draft pick (239th overall) by the Indianapolis Colts out of Maine in the 2016 NFL Draft. He began the year on the Indianapolis practice squad. He was signed to the 53-man roster on Oct. 5 and played in his first NFL game vs. Chicago on Oct. 9 before being released by Indianapolis on Oct. 13.

Gronkowski, 24, was signed by New England to a future contract on Feb. 14, 2017. The 6-foot-3, 234-pounder initially joined the Patriots practice squad on Oct. 1, 2016, and had four different stints on the squad last season. He originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Buffalo Bills on May 2, 2016, out of Kansas State. Gronkowski made the Buffalo 53-man roster and played in the season opener at Baltimore, and did not record any statistics. He was released by Buffalo on Sept. 12, 2016.

Lucien, 24, was originally drafted by New England in the seventh round (225th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. He was released by the Patriots on Sept. 3, 2016 and joined the practice squad on Sept. 5, 2016.

Maye, 23, was signed by New England on July 30, 2017. The 5-foot-8, 191-pounder originally signed with the N.Y. Giants as a rookie free agent out of Minnesota on May 6, 2016. He was released by the Giants at the end of training camp and joined the Tennessee Titans practice squad on Dec. 28, 2016. He was released by Tennessee on May 19, 2017.

ROOKIES RELEASED

Augusta, 23, played in all 12 games as a senior at Missouri and finished with 23 total tackles and one sack. The 6-foot-4, 335-pounder first entered the starting lineup as a junior in 2015. He also saw action as a fullback during short-yardage situations. 

Bart, 22, was originally signed by the Arizona Cardinals as a rookie free agent on May 17, 2017, out of North Carolina. The 6-foot-3, 270-pounder was released by Arizona on June 6, 2017. Bart appeared in 48 games with 29 starts and finished with 83 total tackles, 12½ sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Carr, 23, led the Big Ten in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns as a senior in 2016 at Northwestern after finishing with 84 receptions for a school-record 1,247 yards and tying a record with 12 touchdowns. The 6-foot-1 195-pounder was a consensus First-team All-Big Ten selection and was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award. Carr finished his college career with 107 receptions for 1,598 yards and 14 touchdowns. 

Cotton, 23, played in 31 games with 23 starts during his four-year career at Nebraska and caught 17 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns. The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder played in 13 games with 11 starts as a senior in 2016 and registered eight receptions for 87 yards.

Daniels Jr., 22, played in all 13 games with 12 starts as a senior at Iowa in 2016 and rushed 213 times for 1,058 yards and ten touchdowns. The 6-foot, 225-pounder was named a team captain as a senior and also was named team offensive MVP.

Ellis, 22, played in 49 college games with 41 starts and totaled 290 tackles, 3½ sacks, two forced fumbles and 13 passes defensed. The 6-foot-2, 245-pounder, closed out his career with 31 straight starts and served as a team captain as a junior and a senior. 

Hollister, Cody, 23, played in 29 games with 12 starts at Arkansas and caught 27 passes for 342 yards and a touchdown. The 6-foot-4, 209-pounder, began his career at Nevada in 2012 and then played at Arizona Western Community College before transferring to Arkansas. 

Jones, 23, led Richmond and the conference with nine interceptions as a junior in 2015. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder, was injured in Week 3 of his senior season in 2016. 

Killings, 22, had his best season as a senior in 2016 at Central Florida, starting all 13 games at safety and finishing with 42 total tackles, one sack and three interceptions, including one that he returned for a touchdown. The 6-foot, 185-pounder rebounded from a junior season in 2015 that saw him play in only seven games due to injury. 

King, 23, was a three year starter at left guard at Purdue. The 6-foot-4, 310-pounder first entered the starting lineup as a redshirt freshman in 2013 when he started five games.

Likely, 22, played in 43 games during his college career at Maryland, finishing with 229 total tackles and seven interceptions. The 5-foot-7, 175-pounder, also returned 87 kicks for 2,233 yards with two touchdowns and returned 67 punts for 875 yards with four touchdowns.

McDermot, 24, was drafted by New England in the sixth round (211th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-8 305 pounder started 31 games during his career at UCLA and was named second team All-Pac-12 Conference as a senior in 2016.

Moore II, 22, played in all 11 games at Valdosta in 2016 and finished with 45 total tackles, one sack and had five interceptions. The 5-foot-9, 179-pounder played as a true freshman in 2013 and also as a sophomore in 2014 before entering the starting lineup as a junior in 2015. 

Rich, 23, was selected AP All-America third team and chosen as the winner of the Joseph E. Wolf Award, that is given to the top interior lineman. The 6-foot-7, 315-pounder was a starter at left tackle over his final two seasons at Harvard. 

Thompson, 23, began his college career at Wyoming as a quarterback in 2012 before switching to safety in 2013. The 6-foot-2, 208-pounder played in six games as a true freshman and also saw action at running back. After transferring to Utah and sitting out the 2014 season, he played in 11 games in 2015 and 13 games in 2016 at safety.

Travis, 23, started all 13 games as a senior and led Minnesota with 83 tackles and also had two interceptions. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder, originally entered the starting lineup as a junior in 2014. He was injured early in the 2015 season and was granted an extra year of eligibility.

Usher, 22, was originally signed by the Seattle Seahawks as a rookie free agent on May 12, 2017, out of Texas-El Paso. The 6-foot-3, 235-pounder, was released by Seattle on July 29, 2017. Usher started in 36 of 49 games in college and was moved to linebacker as a senior after three years along the defensive line. He recorded 179 total tackles and 12 sacks during his college career.