The New England Patriots selected tight end Eli Raridon in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft and added a tight end in undrafted free agency. Just days after the draft, that made fellow tight end Marshall Lang expendable for head coach Mike Vrabel.
The Patriots announced Monday they released Lang. They also cut wide receiver John Jiles from the roster.
New England added Lang in October. He experienced two stints on the team’s practice squad during the 2025 campaign. Lang was an undrafted free agent last offseason.
The Patriots signed the tight end to a futures contract in February after the Super Bowl.
Lang played college football at Northwestern. In 51 games, he recorded 48 catches for 491 yards and four touchdowns. He also had one rushing attempt for three yards.
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With Lang and Jiles, New England executed its first cuts since the 2026 NFL Draft.
The team added nine selections in the draft. The Patriots also signed 11 undrafted free agents, which is a rather big class.
So, to create extra roster space, the Patriots parted ways with Lang.
To begin his NFL career last spring, Lang signed with the Seattle Seahawks. Ironically, he only spent his rookie season with the Patriots and Seahawks — last season’s two Super Bowl participants.
Lang spent the entire offseason with Seattle. The Seahawks released him as part of their final roster cuts on August 26.
New England brought Lang in on its practice squad almost two months later. His first stint with the Patriots actually lasted only two days. Lang then had a 12-day stint with the Seahawks practice squad.
The Patriots signed Lang to their practice squad a second time on December 30.
New England drafting Raridon, though, helped make Lang expendable in the team’s tight end room. In undrafted free agency, the Patriots also added Illinois tight end Tanner Arkin.
“Arkin has good size at the tight end position weighing in at 262 pounds which helps him in the run game, but he had extremely minimal college production,” wrote the SB Nation’s Pats Pulpit staff.
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This offseason, New England released veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs. So actually, the team’s top returning receiver in terms of yardage last year is tight end Hunter Henry.
Henry will lead a tight end room that will also feature unrestricted free agent Julian Hill. The fourth-year tight end will help replace Austin Hooper, who departed this offseason. Hooper was second among Patriots tight ends with 263 receiving yards last season.
Including Raridon and Arkin, the Patriots have four other tight ends on their roster even without Lang. Jack Westover and CJ Dippre are the other two. On the team’s official roster, though, Westover is considered a fullback.
Raridon could have a great opportunity to carve out a role as a rookie. At Notre Dame last season, Raridon posted 15.1 yards per catch with 32 receptions for 482 yards.
Since he’s already returned once, Lang could always be a candidate to come back on another contract in New England this summer. The Patriots could also add another tight end after rookie minicamp.
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