Three roster changes were finalized by the New England Patriots, one of which being the removal of veteran kicker Matthew Wright from their practice squad.
The New England Patriots are making three roster changes on Friday night as they look to the future while still relishing their Thursday Night Football triumph over the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21–18, at Acrisure Stadium.
Ty Montgomery, a receiver and running back, was cut by the Pats following his subpar performance in the victory. They signed linebacker/special teamer Christian Elliss off waivers from the Philadelphia Eagles to take his place on the roster.
Montgomery first joined the Pats in March 2022 with the intention of being a significant backfield receiving and third-down player. Regretfully, over a significant portion of his time wearing a Patriots uniform, a number of injuries either limited his workload or prevented him from playing at all. Montgomery played in 14 games over the course of his two seasons with New England, gaining seven yards on five carries and collecting eight catches for 55 yards and a touchdown. In addition, he had 247 yards on 10 kick returns.
Montgomery’s status on the squad has been in doubt lately, even with the news that starting back Rhamondre Stevenson will miss “a few weeks” due to an ankle injury. Apart from the decrease in his playing time, the Pats also signed former Jacksonville Jaguars running back JaMycal Hasty, which was probably going to reduce his number of snaps even further. When Steelers special teamer Miles Killebrew quickly ducked past Montgomery to block rookie Bryce Baringer’s punt attempt, Montgomery’s tenure with the team was all but over. The Pats’ lead was now 21-18 after Pittsburgh’s eight-point swing as a result of the special teams error. Safety Kyle Dugger replaced Montgomery right away in the starting lineup, and the latter did not play another snap the rest of the game.
A day after Ty Montgomery allowed a blocked punt in the Patriots’ victory over the Steelers, the team cut him.
The Patriots are trying to add depth at linebacker and strengthen their special teams unit with Elliss’ acquisition. Before being released on December 6th, 2023, Ellis was a member of the Philadelphia Eagles for 12 games, one start, and 16 total tackles. This was done to make room for the signing of former Indianapolis Colts linebacker Shaquille Leonard.
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In all, Elliss has participated in three postseason games, including Super Bowl LII, and 19 regular season games, including one start. He has also totaled 26 tackles. Reportedly, New England defeated five other clubs to acquire the third-year professional, who logged 238 special teams snaps and 119 defensive snaps.
Finally, kicker Matthew Wright was cut by the Patriots from their practice squad. On November 29, the veteran was brought on board due to rookie kicker Chad Ryland’s previous troubles. The Pats 2023 fourth-round selection failed to convert a 35-yard field goal in the final seconds of New England’s Week 12 matchup with the New York Giants.
The Patriots players will take a little break before returning to the practice field on Monday in order to get ready for their Week 15 game against the Chiefs, which is scheduled to take place from Gillette Stadium on Sunday, December 17 at 1 p.m. ET.
