After trimming the roster down to 53 players, the Patriots continued tinkering with the bottom of their roster by announcing a flurry of moves on Wednesday.

New England claimed QB Tommy DeVito and CB Charles Woods off waivers, adding two players to their 53-man roster. To make room for DeVito and Woods, the Patriots released veteran WR Kendrick Bourne and waived second-year WR Javon Baker. Initially, the Pats kept eight receivers on their 53-man roster, but that didn't last long as the team is now down to six wideouts on the active roster.

"Just strengthening the roster, certainly, at a premium position and continuing to add pieces, whether that's offensively, defensively or guys that we feel like can help us on special teams," Vrabel said when asked about claiming DeVito on waivers on Wednesday.

Along with adding two new faces, the Patriots signed 16 players who were with the team during training camp to the practice squad: CB Miles Battle, G Mekhi Butler, G Jack Conley, CB Brandon Crossley, TE C.J. Dippre, RB Terrell Jennings, WR John Jiles, DE Truman Jones, C Alec Lindstrom, DB Kobee Minor, DT David Olajga, LB Cam Riley, DT Jahvaree Ritzie, TE Gee Scott Jr., LB Bradyn Swinson and WR Jeremiah Webb. As a London, England native, Olajiga is part of the NFL's International Pathway Program, meaning he doesn't count toward the 16-man limit for the practice squad, so the Patriots still have one open practice squad spot.

Starting with their most notable waiver claim, the Patriots only carried two quarterbacks on their initial roster, releasing undrafted rookie QB Ben Wooldridge in their first wave of cuts. Given that most teams have at least three in the building, it's not surprising that New England was in the market for quarterback depth. That said, it's fair to wonder if DeVito is more than just an additional practice arm, given that he made eight starts over the last two seasons for the Giants and had some success during a three-game winning streak for New York in the 2023 season.

Furthermore, top backup Joshua Dobbs had an up-and-down camp. Dobbs had some bouts with inconsistent ball placement and didn't always protect the football in practice. Besides supporting the starter, the backup's job when called upon is to hit the layups within the scheme and avoid negative plays. Basically, don't lose the game. The last thing New England wants is for starter Drake Maye to be unavailable. However, you still need a reliable insurance policy.

On Wednesday, head coach Mike Vrabel was asked about Dobbs' performance this summer. While the head coach acknowledged some "mistakes" for the veteran, Vrabel remains confident in Dobbs.

"​​Josh has settled down in the games, and I think that there have been some mistakes, whether that was joint practice or practice, and we're all going to have mistakes. Then being able to settle down in the games, perform and operate," Vrabel told reporters. "Each move that we'll make may not be an indication of what the players are at that position. I think it's just looking to strengthen the overall roster construction."

Although the Patriots head coach stated it wasn't the "main factor" in claiming DeVito, VP of Player Personnel Ryan Cowden spent two seasons with the Giants as an executive advisor to general manager Joe Schoen. Cowden's history with DeVito gave the Patriots some familiarity with the 27-year-old quarterback, while Giants head coach Brian Daboll also runs a similar offensive system as Patriots OC Josh McDaniels. Daboll had two stints as a Pats assistant, including working four seasons under McDaniels as tight ends coach.

For example, there are similar concepts to the Patriots schemes in Daboll's drop-back passing game. Above, the Giants are running an empty concept with DeVito at quarterback. To the three receiver side, you have a hitch, seam and juke route (HOSS) paired with a backside dig route, with DeVito throwing the dig against man coverage. DeVito's familiarity with the system could allow him to catch on quicker with the Patriots.

After doing a deep dive into DeVito's tape, the positives in his game are that he'll hit schemed open deep shots and take the profits with timely decisions on underneath throws. The Pats new quarterback threw play-action passes effectively, mostly off boot or half-boot actions, where Daboll was scheming open receivers on shot plays. DeVito also had a good feel for reading short zone-droppers to find soft spots underneath, which will serve him well in the McDaniels offense.

DeVito was waived by the Giants, who are rolling with veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, along with first-rounder Jaxson Dart. From this perspective, DeVito's arm talent prevents him from accurately driving the ball outside the numbers, while beating collapsing defenders on throws through the middle of the field can be challenging for DeVito. Lastly, he had the highest sack rate among quarterbacks with at least 200 pass attempts over the last two seasons (16.2%).

To be fair to DeVito, the Giants offense has been in a similar place as the Patriots the last few years, with bottom-tier pass protection and a limited supporting cast. Still, these two numbers say it all about DeVito: he produced only four big-time throws, while committing just six turnover-worthy plays on 222 attempts since 2023. In other words, he's a safe passer, but not someone you expect to elevate an offense.

Moving forward, the Patriots will practice behind closed doors, with the media only allowed to view stretching and individual periods. We won't know if DeVito and Dobbs are competing for the backup job, nor will we have much insight into how DeVito looks in practice. Based on the game film and advanced metrics, DeVito and Dobbs are in a similar tier. Over the last two seasons, DeVito ranks 53rd among 57 qualified quarterbacks in expected points added per drop-back (-0.17), while Dobbs is 42nd (-0.07).

With any competition happening behind closed doors, we'll have to see on the game-day roster whether or not DeVito is making a push at practice now that he's in the mix at quarterback.

More on the Patriots Claiming CB Charles Woods

Along with claiming DeVito, the Patriots bolstered their cornerback depth by adding Woods. Woods spent training camp with the Rams, appearing in 12 games with LA as a core special teamer in 2024. Woods played on five different special teams units last season, logging a 54.9% snap rate in the kicking game. This preseason, Woods played most of his snaps in the slot, with 55 of his 91 defensive snaps coming as a slot corner (60.4%). Woods made positive plays as a nickel blitzer (three pressures), in screen support and allowed just four catches on nine targets into his coverage this summer (44.4%).

Based on his skill set, Woods profiles similarly to second-year DB Marcellas Dial. Before suffering a season-ending injury in camp, Dial was trending toward making the Patriots roster as a core special-teamer and big nickel defender. Vrabel and others have spoken about wanting bigger nickel corners at their disposal, giving CB Alex Austin chances to play in the slot in recent weeks. Although it's unlikely that Woods will play meaningful snaps on defense this season, New England only carried five corners on their initial roster, so the 5-11, 191-pound cornerback could push for a similar role that the Patriots envisioned for Dial.

Breaking Down the Patriots 16 Practice Squad Signings

The Patriots filled out most of their practice squad by signing 16 players on Wednesday, with 17 potential spots due to Olajiga's status as an IPP player. New England didn't have any players claimed off waivers, so the Patriots brought back 16 players that were with them in camp for the practice squad. Most notably, Harvard grad Truman Jones ran with the second-string defense in camp, logging three pressures in the preseason. Jones's ability to convert speed-to-power while playing with a high motor caught the eye, with this scribe believing the edge rusher had a legit chance to make the initial roster.

Along with Jones, CB Miles Battle made a late push and was working with a core group of special teamers toward the end of the summer. Furthermore, wideouts John Jiles and Jeremiah Webb flashed in preseason action. On the offensive line, G Mekhi Butler had some standout reps in the preseason and the joint practices in Minnesota. It was also a mild surprise that the Patriots waived fifth-rounder Bradyn Swinson on cutdown day. Swinson had a quieter summer and appeared to fall behind undrafted rookie Elijah Ponder and Jones on the depth chart at EDGE. Still, Swinson had developmental upside if he can add more pass-rush moves to his toolbox.

New England will be able to utilize two standard elevations for regular-season games, which allows teams to activate practice squad players without signing them to the 53-man roster without subjecting them to waivers. Typically, those elevations are used to add depth when there are injuries at a position or for special teams contributors. For younger players, continuing to develop their games on the practice squad is also beneficial.

Kendrick Bourne Era Ends in New England

Lastly, to make room for their waiver claims, the Patriots got down to six wide receivers on the active roster by releasing veteran Kendrick Bourne and waiving second-year WR Javon Baker.

Baker could potentially return to the practice squad, but it seems likely that Bourne will sign with another team. If the veteran receiver heads elsewhere, it ends a four-plus year run for Bourne in New England that spanned two contracts. The veteran pass-catcher had a career year with McDaniels and former QB Mac Jones in 2021 (55 catches, 800 yards, 5 TDs), but injuries and coaching changes prevented Bourne from reaching that peak performance again.

With the wide receiver position still uncertain, there might've been some value in keeping Bourne, but his role would've likely been significantly diminished. The Patriots are leaning on Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte and Mack Hollins, while it makes sense to give third-rounder Kyle Williams and undrafted rookie Efton Chism III opportunities to emerge. Ultimately, the Patriots opted to move on from Bourne.

DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer