Getty

The final player from a Super Bowl-winning team coached by Bill Belichick may soon be gone.

The New England Patriots had already put in a productive three days at the 2025 NFL draf by the time Saturday afternoon came around. But they still had one pick remaining, in the seventh round — at No. 228 overall. Rather than make one late round pick, however, the Patriots chose to make two. They traded that 228th pick to the Kansas City Chiefs to obtain an additional selection in the seventh and final round.

New England picked up draft spots No. 251 and 257 — the latter being the final selection in the entire draft. The player taken there earns the automatic nickname “Mr. Irrelevant.” Of course, that player is not always irrelevant. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was taken with the draft’s final pick in 2022.

One year later, Purdy quarterbacked the ‘Niners to a 12-5 record and a Super Bowl appearance — where Purdy gave the Chiefs all they could handle, losing 25-23.

No. 251 Pick Could Spell End For Belichick-Era Veteran

This year, the Patriots selected Memphis defensive back Kobe Minor in the “Mr. Irrelevant” position. But Patriots insider Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston was not impressed.

“His testing won’t be labeled elite by any front office, running a 4.56-second 40 and a 7.23-second three-cone drill at 5-foot-11, 188 pounds. His Relative Athletic Score, out of 10.0, was 2.93. He had 28 tackles last season,” Perry wrote on Saturday, explaining his grade of “D” for the pick.

But it was the previous pick, at No. 251, that could have broader implications for the Patriots — because it could result in the organization’s saying goodbye to the final player on their roster who played on a Super Bowl team coached by New England legend Bill Belichick.

In fact, the player who may soon be on his way out played in three Patriots, Belichick-coached Super Bowls, two of them victories.

That player is long snapper Joe Cardona, who was drafted by Belichick in the fifth round out of the U.S. Naval Academy in 2015. Cardona made every long snap on a punt, field goal or extra point ever since, except for a three-game stint on injured reserve at the end of the 2022 season.

In addition to his football career, Cardona as a graduate of the Naval Academy is also a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

Ashby Called ‘Best Long Snapper in Draft Class’

Cardona was named a team captain by the Patriots in 2024 for the first time in his career. In the previous season, he signed a four-year, $4.31 million contract extension with New England.

But with a revamped roster under new head coach Mike Vrabel, change is in the air at Gillette Stadium. With pick No. 251 in the draft on Saturday, the Patriots selected another long snapper, giving Cardona a potential replacement for the first time.

New England used the pick to take Vanderbilt long snapper Julian Ashby — not only the first Vanderbilt player drafted since 2021, but also the first long snapper to be taken in the NFL draft since that same year.

In fact, two long snappers were drafted in the sixth round in 2021: the Carolina Panthers took Alabama’s Thomas Fletcher with pick No. 222, and Michigan’s Camaron Cheeseman went to the Washington Commanders three picks later.

NFL.com analyst Lance Zierling described Ashby as an”undersized but highly accurate snapper with good operation quickness in getting the ball to his punter. Ashby appears to be the best long snapper in the draft class.”

Will the Patriots be willing to carry two long snappers on their 53-man roster, especially with one, Cardona, being paid $1.4 million this year? That prospect seems doubtful, meaning that Cardona’s days on the Patriots are likely numbered.

Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist and writer who now covers baseball and other sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Press Association awards for sports feature writing. Vankin is also the author of five nonfiction books on a variety of topics, as well as nine graphic novels including most recently “Last of the Gladiators” published by Dynamite Entertainment. More about Jonathan Vankin