New England Patriots: 3 biggest surprises from 2022 final roster
New England Patriots roster surprise No. 2: Cameron McGrone returns to the practice squad
As the Patriots linebacker corps struggled last season, many fans were getting excited about the potential return of 2021 fifth-round pick Cameron McGrone.
McGrone fell a bit in the draft because he tore his ACL midway through the 2020 season, and he was almost certainly going to be forced to miss the entire 2021 season.
While McGrone did end up practicing with the team midway through the season, he was ultimately never activated. Still, many had high praise for McGrone, and believed he could make an immediate impact with the defense when he took the field. Those expectations followed McGrone throughout training camp.
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The problem was that McGrone never really came close to reaching those expectations. Who could blame him? It was his first real action on the field in quite some time, and he was a little bit behind where everyone expected him to be. That’s obviously reasonable given the fact that he missed quite some time with his ACL injury.
McGrone never made a fierce charge for a roster spot like many folks expected him to, which was a bit surprising. The inside linebacker room is wide open, but Jahlani Tavai ended up stealing the final spot away. McGrone still has a lot of potential, but for now, he will spend his time with the practice squad, which is a bit disappointing considering the expectations that surrounded him early on in camp.