Stevan Ridley has been New England's main "running" back in recent years, except of course for when he got pushed to the sideline by LeGarrette Blount a year ago. Now a respected beat writer for the Patriots is projecting their 53-man roster, and he's not including Ridley on it.
Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com concedes it is only a hunch on his part, that this is where the surprise cut will come. He has the Patriots keeping Shane Vereen, James White, Brandon Bolden and Jonas Gray, and saying goodbye to Ridley.
Ridley's fumbling problems are well-known, and Reiss points to Ridley's cameo appearance in the dress rehearsal game (just 11 snaps) as evidence for his feeling Ridley has fallen out of favor.
Granted, it would be kind of shocking if it happens. But the key running back on this team is Shane Vereen anyway. Would the dropoff from Ridley to Bolden as the main inside runner be significant? Or maybe they like White more than his preseason production suggests they should, or are high on the undrafted Gray.
We're only five days away from the final cuts, which are due on Saturday. New England's final exhibition game will feature some combination of running backs, perhaps the final audition -- or maybe they've already made up their minds.
In any event, Reiss is close enough to the team that if you're drafting this week, don't count too much on Ridley. It's possible the Patriots aren't.
--Andy Richardson