10 Patriots Who Will Be Cut by Tuesday’s Roster Deadline

4. Trace McSorley

Trace McSorley is only barely even a “roster bubble” guy, but let’s also use this spot to look at who doesn’t get cut here: Malik Cunningham.

Obviously Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe are the QB1 and QB2. There’s not much question or debate there. The real question at the position is whether the Patriots carry two or three QBs, and whether or not Malik Cunningham counts as one of them.

If Cunningham hadn’t shown out in the preseason, I’d have the Patriots only carrying two quarterbacks with McSorley getting the axe anyway.

But Cunningham’s versatility is so Belichick-friendly that it’s really hard to see them letting him go.

McSorley, on the other hand, has almost no clear path to providing anything for this team. If Mac Jones gets hurt, it’s Bailey Zappe running the offense with Malik Cunningham backing him up. If Zappe then gets hurt, it’s Cunningham time. And when you’re desperate enough that your question is “who will back up our QB3?” then it almost doesn’t matter who you’re getting.

McSorley isn’t worth hanging onto for that fringe possibility, especially when he may well still be available to sign if it ever does come down to that.