When Mike Vrabel took over as New England Patriots head coach in January, the expectation was that he'd make significant changes to "remove entitlement" from a team that had gone 4-13 in back-to-back seasons.
It's safe to say reality has met expectations.
The turnover began at the top, as Vrabel brought in a completely new coaching staff that featured just four holdovers from the Jerod Mayo regime. It continued throughout the offseason, with New England releasing several established veterans, including former captains David Andrews, Ja'Whaun Bentley and most recently Joe Cardona.
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SIGN UP HERE After Cardona's release, zero members of the 2018 team that won Super Bowl LIII are still on the roster, while the team's longest-tenured players -- Kyle Dugger, Mike Onwenu and Anfernee Jennings -- were drafted just five years ago (2020).
Replacing the "old guard" is a wave of new talent imported in over the last two months. The Patriots brought in 14 new faces in free agency, from wide receiver Stefon Diggs to defensive tackle Milton Williams to edge rusher Harold Landry. New England added 11 more players in last weekend's 2025 NFL Draft, and there's a real chance that nearly all of them make the team's Week 1 roster.
That got us thinking: Just how much turnover has the Patriots' roster undergone in the last year?
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As you might imagine, it's a lot: Of the 90 players on the current roster, only 48 were with New England last season, meaning 42 players -- or roughly 47 percent of the roster -- are out the door.
Here's a look at the 48 holdovers from last year's roster:
- Quarterback: Drake Maye
- Running back: Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson, Terrell Jennings
- Wide receiver: Kendrick Bourne, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, Ja'Lynn Polk, Javon Baker, John Jiles
- Tight end: Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, Jaheim Bell, Jack Westover
- Offensive line: Vederian Lowe, Caedan Wallace, Demontrey Jacobs, Mike Onwenu, Cole Strange, Ben Brown, Sidy Sow, Tyrese Robinson
- Defensive tackle: Christian Barmore, Jeremiah Pharms Jr., Eric Johnson II, Jacquelin Roy
- Edge defender: Keion White, Anfernee Jennings, K'Lavon Chaisson, Truman Jones
- Linebacker: Christian Ellis, Jahlani Tavai, Monty Rice
- Cornerback: Christian Gonzalez, Marcus Jones, Alex Austin, Marcellas Dial, Isaiah Bolden, DJ James, Miles Battle
- Safety: Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers, Marte Mapu, Jaylinn Hawkins, Dell Pettus, Brenden Schooler
- Specialists: John Parker Romo, Bryce Baringer
Several players on the list above were fringe roster players and/or practice squadders, so the turnover on New England's roster easily could eclipse 50 percent by Week 1.
In fact, Phil Perry's way-too-early 53-man roster projection for the Patriots has just 26 players from the 2024 team making the Week 1 squad, which would mean 51 percent of the roster would be new additions.
As you'd expect, flipping more than half your roster is pretty rare: A 2023 Pro Football Focus study found that just six teams lost 50 percent or more of their roster over a three-year span from 2020 to 2022, while nearly half the league (14 teams) retained more than 75 percent of their roster.
But such is the reality for a rebuilding team like the Patriots, which is hitting the reset button in a huge way in Year 1 under Vrabel.