It's NFL roster cutdown day where teams need to go from 80 to 53 players on the roster by 6:00 p.m. (ET). That's a total of 864 players on the market and one of them will be S Brandon Meriweather. Pro Football Talk reports the Patriots have released the 27-year old safety.
Earlier reports suggested the Patriots were trying to trade him and, if they couldn't do that, they'd likely release him, so this move wasn't totally unexpected. They must not have gotten any offers on him.
Meriweather was the Patriots first round pick in the 2007 NFL draft coming out of Miami.
The Patriots, and every other NFL team, are busying finalizing their cuts before the 6:00 p.m. (ET) deadline. Not only will teams be cutting their own players, they'll also be scouring the market for players cut by other teams. As a former first round pick, Meriweather shouldn't have a problem finding another home.
Check out SB Nation's Pats Pulpit for more on the news.