Getty Bill Belichick, Patriots coach
As the Patriots begin to angle to get their many injured players back onto the roster, they’re going to have to make some tough decisions on the 53- man regular unit and the practice squad. One of those decisions was made on Thursday when the Patriots created injury room and waived rookie Ameer Speed from the roster.
Speed appeared in five games this season, mostly on special teams. He was credited with three tackles. It’s possible the Patriots can bring him back to the practice squad if he clears waivers.
It’s unclear what the Patriots will do to fill the roster spot created by axing Speed. They need help up and down the lineup, and have several candidates, including defensive lineman Trey Flowers and defensive back Jack Jones, who have been practicing with the team this week.
Speed was always going to be a long-term developmental piece. He was not much of a prospect in college (he was not invited to the Senior Bowl or the draft combine), but Because Bill Belichick likes to go against the grain in the draft, he made some sense for the Patriots.
“This is a Bill Belichick special,” ESPN analyst Todd McShay said, via Mlive.com. “He’s got traits to develop but he’s a darn good special teams player already.”
Not a Huge Surprise Ameer Speed Waived from Patriots Roster
Speed was a sixth-round draft pick out of Michigan State last spring, considered a fringe prospect because he had not done much to warrant draft consideration during his five-year career at Georgia. He was mostly a special-teams player there, though a very good one. He was allowed a sixth year because of special Covid-19 provisions, and chose to transfer to Michigan State.
There, as a 23-year-old senior, he started as a defensive back and showed some physical promise, even if he struggled as a cover man. But he is a long-limbed 6-foot-3 athlete who ran a 4.33 40-yard dash at MSU’s pro day, so naturally, Belichick was smitten. He saw a player who could contribute right away on special teams and develop into a solid corner with good coaching.
“His pro day is really what has him here and his special teams performance,” McShay said. “Going back to Georgia, he was the co-winner of the special teams most improved player in 2019. He had 518 plays on special teams for the Bulldogs. Bill sees a guy that’s going to contribute on special teams right away and we can develop him. He’s 6-3 and three-eighths of an inch, 209 pounds and if your name’s Speed, you better be fast and he ran a 4.33 40-yard dash.”
Could Roster Spot Go to a QB?
Of course, the big topic round the team is the quarterback position, and the waiving of Ameer Speed from the Patriots roster could factor in there, too. The Patriots have committed a roster spot to rookie quarterback-receiver-whatever Malik Cunningham, and in doing so, have essentially made him the backup quarterback. But against a relentless defense like that of Buffalo, the Week 7 opponent, should Cunningham be No. 2 behind Mac Jones?
It’s possible the Patriots could have both Cunningham and either Will Grier or Bailey Zappe on the roster. Remember, the last two fearsome defenses the Patriots faced—Dallas and New Orleans—knocked Jones out of the game, and Zappe took the field in both cases.
Belichick lamented this week that there were not enough reps in practice to sort out the quarterback situation.
“One quarterback takes all the reps and that’s still sometimes not enough for him. He could go longer,” Belichick said this week, via the Patriots’ weekly transcripts. “It’s just, you have to manage the rest of the team. When you start splitting that up with other players, then there’s not enough reps for them either. Quarterback is a position that can – assuming that the quarterback is healthy – they can probably take more reps than any other player on the team and a plethora of reps.”