As if the Patriots roster hasn’t already seen enough turnover, this upcoming season could be the final year for quite a few others, while some additional names may not even make it past training camp.
Currently, the club has 24 players who are all in the final year of their contracts, with former first-round pick Cole Strange among the most notable names in that group.
According to multiple reports, the Patriots have opted not to pick up the fifth-year option for the former Chattanooga standout, setting up this upcoming year as a make-or-break campaign when it comes to his future.
Injuries have plagued Strange in recent seasons, with a knee injury in 2023 carrying over into 2024 and sidelining him for the majority of the season.
There was even some question ahead of last year whether or not he’d make it back at all, which was telling given the severity of the injury.
(PHOTO: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
However, Strange started practicing ahead of Week 12 and was finally active in Week 16 against the Bills, initially playing three snaps on special teams before getting the nod the next week against the Chargers, where he started at center over the final two weeks of the season.
During that span, he played fairly well, leading to praise from both Eliot Wolf and new head coach Mike Vrabel, which appeared to have him poised to compete for that role this season.
But after signing free agent center Garrett Bradbury and drafting Jared Wilson last weekend, Strange appears poised to be competing for his old spot at left guard and may also be trying to prove he belongs here beyond this season.
His story has been fairly tumultuous from the beginning, with his first-round selection in the class of 2022 Patriots Draft Picks being one that was definitely controversial.
After trading back from 21 to 29 that year in round one, there was a significant run on highly-touted defensive players from that point, with Quay Walker, Kaiir Elam, Jermaine Johnson II, Devin Lloyd and Devonte Wyatt each coming off the board following multiple trade-ups by the Packers, Bills, Jets and Jaguars respectively, after those clubs jumped back up into the fray.
That run altered the way the draft board had been unfolding to that point.
That could seemingly have changed the Patriots’ plans, causing them to switch gears and turn their attention elsewhere.
That’s when they instead took Strange. The feeling appeared to be that he was a potential early second-round pick, and rather than risk trading out and moving back into round two and possibly missing him, New England instead selected him at that point, which also gave them the ability to have the fifth-year option available.
Unfortunately, fast-forward to where we are now, and that clearly didn’t quite pan out.
The thing that might save him beyond 2025 might be his versatility, as he played well during his snaps at center and had also been a solid contributor at guard. But in the meantime, he’ll be among a large group entering this fall for the right to continue their careers here beyond this season.
