4 days Ago By Bernd Buchmasser
One day after their 28-22 loss to the Los Angeles Rams , the New England Patriots made a change to the backend of their roster. Cornerback Marco Wilson was waived to make room on the 53-man team for fellow CB Alex Austin, who was activated from injured reserve . What do the moves mean for the Patriots from a big-picture perspective? Let’s find out.
Typically, we would look at each of the moves individually but Wilson and Austin are closely connected due to the position they share. Essentially, they both are/were backup cornerbacks behind the top trio of Christian Gonzalez, Marcus Jones and Jonathan Jones. As a result of the swap, the Patriots’ cornerback group still consists of six players on the active roster plus two more on the practice squad: 53-man roster (6): Christian Gonzalez (0), Marcus Jones (25 | PR), Jonathan Jones (31), Alex Austin (28), Marcellas Dial Jr.
(27), Isaiah Bolden (29) Practice squad (2): Miles Battle (35), D.J. James (30) The top group has a clear hierarchy.
Christian Gonzalez is the top option and one of the best cornerbacks in football; the Joneses serve as versatile starter-caliber defenders alongside him. Austin will be the new No. 4, taking over the role previously filled by Wilson.
Marcellas Dial and Isaiah Bolden are both primarily special teamers. When the Patriots started the regular season, Wilson served as the No. 4 at the cornerback position behind Gonzalez and the two Joneses; he played 29 total defensive snaps over the first two weeks compared to Austin’s zero.
However, by Week 3 the team decided to make a switch: Wilson was made a healthy scratch, with Austin taking over as CB4. What would have happened had both stayed healthy from that point on is anybody’s guess. However, Austin’s ankle injury suffered in his defensive season debut against the New York Jets allowed Wilson to reenter the lineup and stay in until Sunday.
The question now becomes whether or not Austin will be an upgrade. Wilson did have some encouraging moments before a disappointing outing versus the Rams, but Monday’s moves indicate that the team feels Austin is the better option — or at least value — at this point in time. Whether that point of view turns out to be accurate is TBD, though.
While the natural reaction to the Austin-Wilson exchange is to look at it purely through a defensive lens, it also will have an impact on the kicking game. Wilson, after all, had been a regular on the Patriots’ punt return unit this season, totaling 42 snaps in that area over the first 11 weeks of the season. Austin, meanwhile, was employed on two units over the first three weeks: he played on both punt return and kick coverage, seeing a combined 21 snaps in between them.
Despite his multi-week absence, it seems likely that he will return to the special teams operation starting this week against the Miami Dolphins . The Patriots had both Wilson and Austin on their pay roll entering Monday; players on injured reserve are compensated just like those on the active roster. As a consequence, Austin’s activation does not change his salary cap impact: he is still counting $925,080 versus New England’s cap, just like before.
Removing Wilson from the equation, on the other hand, created some cap savings for the team. The Patriots, after all, are now no longer obligated to pay the rest of his salary and active roster bonuses for the 2024 season, and he will also miss out on his likely-to-be-earned playing time incentives. Added all up, this results in salary cap savings of just under $1.
09 million , according to salary cap expert Miguel Benzan. With Austin officially off injured reserve, the Patriots are down to six players on the list. Of those six, four are currently eligible to be activated at any point in time.
Realistically, however, only one will return to the 53-man roster: offensive tackle Caedan Wallace, who is expected to make his comeback before season’s end. The other three — center David Andrews (shoulder), linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley (pectoral) and edge Oshane Ximines (knee) — are all out for the rest of the season. They share this distinction with offensive lineman Jake Andrews (knee) and wide receiver JaQuae Jackson (N/A), who were never eligible to return in the first place after being sent to IR ahead of the roster cutdown deadline.
In addition to those six players, the Patriots have one player remaining on the physically unable to perform list (OL Cole Strange) as well as one each on the exempt/left squad (OT Chukwuma Okorafor) and commissioner’s exempt (S Jabrill Peppers) lists..
