As soon as veteran offensive lineman Greg Van Roten signing with the New England Patriots as a free agent was reported, one logical question was raised: what would the follow-up move be to keep the team under the offseason roster limit? We now know that it was waiving tight end Mitch Van Vooren.
Let’s analyze what the move means (for the same breakdown about Van Roten, please click here).
Unsurprising move
The Patriots used 29 players on the offensive side of the ball in their preseason opener against the Colts last Thursday, and not one of them was on the field for fewer snaps than Van Vooren. The second-year tight end played just three snaps on the night without registering any statistics; he also played a pair of snaps on special teams as well.
His lack of quality opportunities in that game and pretty much ever since he arrived in New England ahead of training camp made it pretty clear that the 25-year-old was facing a major uphill battle not just for the 53-man roster but the practice squad as well. Him being let go now in response to the Van Roten signing is therefore no real surprise.
Depth changes
With Van Vooren out of the picture, the Patriots’ active tight end group now stands at just five players deep.
Tight end (5): Hunter Henry (85), Eli Raridon (82), Tanner Arkin (84), Jack Westover (37), C.J. Dippre (81)
IR (1): Julian Hill
Out of the five tight ends on the roster, Hunter Henry and Eli Raridon are locks to make the team. This leaves the other three to compete for what might not be more than one spot on the 53-man squad. Undrafted rookie Tanner Arkin still looks like the frontrunner even though he has been quiet lately after a relatively eventful start to his rookie training camp.
The question whether the Patriots will go two or three deep at tight end will depend on how he or the other backups perform relative to, for example, a seventh wide receiver or other depth piece elsewhere on the roster. What we do know is that Van Vooren is no longer able to leave his mark on the competition.
No cap impact
When the Patriots signed Van Vooren they did so via a one-year contract that consisted entirely of a non-guaranteed $885,000 base salary. With that number not high enough to qualify for the Top 51 list, he had no actual impact on New England’s salary cap — something that does not change now that he has been released.
(That does no mean Van Vooren spent the last four weeks in Foxborough working for free; every player receives per-diem compensation during training camp. As a first-year player with no credited seasons under his belt, he earned $2,000 per week.)
While Van Vooren being waived does not change the Patriots’ books, the aforementioned Greg Van Roten signing does. Instead of signing a veteran minimum deal with a $1.3 million base salary, as we speculated after the two sides reached an agreement, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Van Roten’s contract with the Patriots is for one year with a $3 million base value and play-time incentives that could push it to $4.5 million. This makes it a solid deal for a veteran player who had been unsigned since March.