The New England Patriots are almost ready for the 2025 NFL season, as only Thursday's clash with the New York Giants remains on their preseason schedule. The Patriots have opened the exhibition slate with back-to-back wins to begin head coach Mike Vrabel's tenure behind the bench, and ending the preseason with a 3-0 record would give New England plenty of momentum before the regular-season action begins.
With the preseason ending, it's only a matter of time before the 53-man roster deadline arrives on Aug. 26. Many players will have their hearts broken on that day, and the Patriots have already gotten a head start on trimming the fat by cutting a recently signed defender on Tuesday.
DB Tre Avery released by #Patriots per source
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) August 19, 2025
KPRC 2 Houston's Aaron Wilson is reporting that the Patriots have released defensive back Tre Avery. The former Rutgers Scarlet Knight signed with New England one day after he was released from the San Francisco 49ers earlier this month, and will now have to look for a new team to join to continue his NFL career.
Patriots Release DB Tre Avery After 2 Weeks in New England
With cornerback Christian Gonzalez hampered by a hamstring injury and fellow CB Marcellas Dial Jr. lost to an ACL tear, signing Avery made sense at the time. The 28-year-old DB has experience stemming from 38 games (5 starts) played across the last three seasons, and the hope was that he could add some much-needed depth to the Pats' secondary.
Unfortunately, Avery has since failed to prove his worth, leading to his unfortunate release. He didn't demonstrate much reliability in his two preseason appearances, recording five tackles while allowing four completions on eight targets for 89 yards with only one broken-up pass. As a result, Pro Football Focus gave him an abysmal 47.5 coverage grade for his work.
The fact that the Minnesota Vikings were comfortable with targeting Avery seven times this past weekend shows that he isn't a threat to opposing quarterbacks. A defensive-minded coach like Vrabel knows the importance of having disruptors in his secondary, and it's clear that Avery is anything but that.
Although it would've been nice for Avery's signing to pan out, the truth is that a player won't be a good fit for every team, and vice versa. Hopefully, the failed Patriots signing can find a new home soon because it won't be much longer until the 2025 NFL regular season is here.