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The 2025 NFL season officially begins next Thursday when Dallas Cowboys visit the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
As the start of the season clings, teams across the league had to trim their respective guards to 53 men late on Tuesday afternoon. While the broad recipient Kendrick Bourne was performed on New England Patriot’s initial depth card on Tuesday, he was waived the next day.
ESPN reported that Bourne’s release came shortly after he asked the patriots for a new start with another team.
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The wide receives Kendrick Bourne coach on the opening day of New England Patriot’s training camp on July 23, 2025 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Kris Craig / The Providence Journal / USA Today Network via Imag images)
Meanwhile, defense back Marcus Epps asked to be released on Cutdown Day, according to the Boston Herald.
Mike Vrabel, who has sometimes collided with the media during his first season as Patriots’ head coach, was asked to share his thoughts on the unexpected releases. “I don’t know,” replied a somewhat protected Vrabel. “Who are you referring to, I specifically assume?”
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After the reporter clarified that the question was referring to Bourne and EPPS, Vrabel compared the case with what often happens when a romance between two people reaches a crossroads.
“Yes, that’s news for me,” Vrabel noted.
“I mean, we …,” Vrabel began before shooking his head. “Yes, I mean, I think we’re just trying to put together the schedule. I guess when it doesn’t work, you know you break up with someone your boyfriend won’t be with you. And then you say, ‘Well, I won’t be with you either.’ I don’t get into all that.
New England Patriot’s main coach Mike Vrabel leaves the practice fields after MiniCamp at Gillette Stadium on June 9, 2025. (Eric Canha/Imag images)
Vrabel then made it clear that he did not intend to participate in a long exchange over the case.
“I just said I don’t get into it. You know what I mean? As if we’re not going back and forth here,” he said. “We are trying to build a list. You have to move on from some guys. You make connections with guys. You train them. They earn more options, they get more options, they take advantage of them, and that’s how these things go.”
New England Patriots Safety Marcus Epps (22) leads to the fields of training for training camp at Gillette Stadium on July 28, 2025. (Eric Canha/Imag images)
EPPS spent time with three NFL franchises over six seasons. He appeared in three matches with Las Vegas Raiders last year. Meanwhile, Bourne spent the last four years with the patriots. He completed the campaign in 2024 with 28 receptions.
The Patriots host Raiders on September 7 to kick their slate in regular season.
