New England Patriots release veteran Bobby Carpenter
 

Wonder if the Saints will bring him in for a try-out?

Hours after the New England Patriots traded for Greg Salas from the St. Louis Rams, the Pats made room for their new wide receiver by cutting linebacker Bobby Carpenter, the team announced Saturday.

Carpenter's stay in New England is over almost before it began. It's a surprising move by the Patriots considering Carpenter had performed well in camp after being signed as a free agent in April.

It leaves the Patriots thin at linebacker, where Carpenter was penciled in on the strongside behind rookie Dont'a Hightower. Now, Mike Rivera and Tracy White figure as the main reserves behind starters Brandon Spikes and Jerod Mayo (meaning transaction-happy Bill Belichick is sure to make another move here soon).

Following four disappointing seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, Carpenter split time last season with the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Carpenter has failed to live up to his first-round draft status, but Belichick has spun gold out of project players before and appeared to be at it again.

This might be more about the Patriots trending younger on defense. New England has rapidly shed age on this side of the ball, and Carpenter obviously wasn't a fit.

New England Patriots release veteran Bobby Carpenter - NFL.com

Re: New England Patriots release veteran Bobby Carpenter
 

Wasn't he a folk singer?

Re: New England Patriots release veteran Bobby Carpenter
 

Bring him in.

Re: New England Patriots release veteran Bobby Carpenter
 

He's old, and he plays old. Might be quality depth for somebody, not much else.

Re: New England Patriots release veteran Bobby Carpenter
 

Lets take a look.

Re: New England Patriots release veteran Bobby Carpenter
 

No thanks.

Re: New England Patriots release veteran Bobby Carpenter
 

... he's never quite lived up to his billing as a linebacker out of Ohio State and being a first round draft pick, but if you need some depth, he's not bad in coverage ... inconsistent when he was with the Lions and a big "?" whenever he was in there.