Out with the old, in with the new.
That's been a theme in New England since Mike Vrabel took over as Patriots head coach in January, and it continued Tuesday when the team released veteran long snapper Joe Cardona.
New England selected a long snapper (Vanderbilt's Julian Ashby) in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft on Saturday, so Cardona's release is hardly a surprise. But it's hard to ignore the symbolism behind his departure.
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SIGN UP HERE A 10-year NFL veteran, Cardona was the Patriots' longest-tenured player and the only player on the active roster who had won a Super Bowl in New England. After Cardona's release, no member of the 2018 team that won Super Bowl LIII is still on the roster.
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Cardona is far from the only long-term veteran to be shown the door this offseason; Vrabel's club also released long-time center David Andrews and linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley.
In fact, of New England's six captains from the start of the 2024 season -- Jacoby Brissett, Cardona, Andrews, Bentley, Deatrich Wise Jr. and Jabrill Peppers -- only Peppers is still on the roster, and he had his captaincy stripped in October when he was placed on the Commissioner Exempt List.
Indeed, there's a changing of the guard in Foxboro, where the Patriots' three longest-tenured players following Cardona's release -- Kyle Dugger, Anfernee Jennings and Mike Onwenu -- were drafted just five years ago in 2020.
Vrabel's hope is that new leaders will emerge on an overturned roster laden with recent draft picks and imported free-agent veterans. And with the final link to the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady days broken, it truly is a new era in New England.
Here's a look at the Patriots' updated depth chart: