The Patriots Are Releasing TE Ben Watson

In a surprise move the New England Patriots have decided to cut ties with tight end Ben Watson. The Patriots have elected not to activate Watson to the 53-man roster on Monday, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss. As a result, New England will let him enter free agency. The Patriots will pick up a little over 2 million in cap space with the release.

Watson was serving a four-game suspension after violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. The Patriots will continue to move forward with Ryan Izzo and Matt LaCosse who each had a solid game against the Redskins this weekend. The extra cap space isn’t likely going to be enough to entice Rob Gronkowski out of retirement but is enough to address other pressing needs.

The Patriots won’t be activating TE Benjamin Watson, per a source.

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 7, 2019

Tom Brady with a 10 yard TD to a wide open Ryan Izzo!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/sxDAr36a01

— PatriotsNation™ (@PatsNationTM) October 6, 2019