6 Patriots Who Will Be Cut Next After Lawrence Guy and Adrian Phillips

5. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR (trade candidate)

There are certain players on the roster the Patriots couldn't really justify when it comes to just straight-up cutting. They don't need to be unwise about getting rid of players and paying players to play for other teams, but if they could get some value in a trade for some of these guys -- even a late-round future pick swap, I think we could see them reset at certain position groups.

The more you look at it, the more the Patriots' wide receiver room just kind of needs to be burned down and built from scratch. The JuJu Smith-Schuster signing in last year's free agency was one of the worst overpays in free agency, and the Patriots definitely paid the price in more ways than one.

I'm not sure what kinds of Tik Toks Smith-Schuster was able to make last year, but he got $16 million guaranteed at signing from New England for 29 receptions for 260 yards and one touchdown. Now, he's slated to count almost $10.3 million against the 2024 salary cap for the Patriots -- the 5th-highest hit on the team -- and New England is kind of stuck with him.

They wouldn't save any money by cutting him, but if they could work out some kind of trade and basically pay a team to take Smith-Schuster, they could get rid of him and salvage a draft pick potentially.