Patriots Talk: Goodbye And Thank You Malcolm Mitchell

Injuries Played Key Part

It’s saddening how fast time flies. Malcolm Mitchell was just a fourth round pick out of Georgia in the 2016 NFL Draft. During the 2016 season, he  showed real promise as a possible future starter for years on the team. Now, he has been officially released as of yesterday, August 6th, by the New England Patriots. 

Mitchell was dealing with a series of knee injures that he had been dealing with following Super Bowl LI. According to multiple sources, Mitchell was on the trade block and the organization was shopping him for weeks during this off-season. However, there was no interest from other teams, so the Patriots decided to release Mitchell from his contract. 

Not only is this sad for Mitchell, but it is terrible for the Patriots roster. Losing Jordan Matthews was harsh enough but losing a young and promising player is arguably worse.

Receiving Core Grows Thinner

As of now, the Patriots don’t have Julian Edelman for the first four games of the 2018 season. Matthews was released following his hamstring injury last  week. And the Patriots signed Eric Decker to a one-year deal worth 1.9 million.

If this season will tell us anything, its that Brady will need to repeat what he did in 2018 with a core consisting of Chris Hogan, Cordarrelle Patterson, Kenny Britt, Phillip Dorsett, Devin Lucien, Riley McCarron and now Eric Decker. (Matthew Slater is strictly Special Teams) To say the current projected roster is somewhat underwhelming would be an understatement. Heck, with this roster, 2018 6th Round Pick, Braxton Berrios could be a definite rotation player in this lineup.

Thank You For The Memories

Regardless of where Mitchell goes, or if he even retires, he was a solid player for the Patriots. But like many before him, injuries might have sapped away at a promising career. Notheless, this cut hurts the team as they are playing this Thursday night against the Washington Redskins on CBS.