One of the most surprising cuts out of Patriots camp is recent folk-hero Jonas Gray, who was waived yesterday as the team trimmed their roster down to 53 players.
It came as a shock to some in league circles, as Gray emerged as potential starter during his 201 yard and four touchdown performance against the Colts in the regular season. However, he fell out of favor as LeGarrette Blount came through later in the season, rushing for 148 yards and three touchdowns of his own against the Colts in the AFC Championship game.
Even based of the strength of that game, Gray cleared waivers unclaimed, reports to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). Still, there are a number of teams interested in him and Volin expects him to find a spot on a roster this season.
There had been issues last season with Gray missing a practice that led to his benching down the stretch, but nothing like that repeated itself during training camp. Volin writes that Gray made his weight, worked hard, and didn’t miss any practices (via Twitter).
One reason Brandon Bolden made the team over Gray is the ability to contribute on special teams, according to Volin (via Twitter).
With Blount suspended for the season opener, Gray was expected to be the starter against the Steelers in Week 1. The team will likely use some combination of Bolden, James White, and Dion Lewis out of the backfield for the opener before Blount retakes the starting job in Week 2.