With just more than a week to go until training camp kicks off, the New England Patriots decided to make a minor roster move on the back-end of their roster.
The team announced Friday that they've waived undrafted rookie defensive tackle Travis Shaw , opening up a spot on the team. The 21-year-old rookie, who played his college football at both UNC and Texas, signed with New England back in May and participated in both the team's OTAs and mandatory minicamps.
During his college career, he played in 50 games and recorded 68 total tackles and two fumble recoveries. With the Longhorns in 2025, he started one game and made 13 tackles. The 6-foot-5, 334-pound lineman brought plenty of size to the Patriots' defensive tackle room, but got caught up in a numbers game.
So what does this move mean for the Patriots ? In the grand scheme of things, not that much.
It's the releasing of a player who was on the fringes of making the roster to begin with. While Shaw's size really helped his chances of becoming a rotational nose tackle in the wake of Khyiris Tonga leaving, there were plenty of other players at his position fighting for spots with more experience.
Additionally, waiving Shaw won't impact the salary cap. He carried a $885k cap hit with no guarantees.
The room currently boasts Milton Williams , Christian Barmore , Cory Durden , Leonard Taylor III, Eric Gregory , David Blay Jr. and Jeremiah Pharms Jr. Moving on from Shaw, especially before training camp even kicks off, should be seen as a vote of confidence for the players remaining.
Jun 2, 2026; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots defensive tackle Travis Shaw (62) gets ready for the team's OTA at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
It's safe to say that the locks to make the team out of that group are Williams, Barmore and Durden. The rest have to battle it out this summer to stick around on the 53-man roster.
This shouldn't be surprising. Despite the team, on paper, needing depth at defensive tackle entering the draft, they passed on selecting any. They only added Blay Jr. out of Miami in undrafted free agency.
New England wanted to roll with the guys on the roster, and it was a testament to how they played last season, including Durden.
"I think (Durden) proved that," head coach Mike Vrabel said. "But we also are excited. Lenny T, Leonard Taylor, worked with us. Eric Gregory worked with us. These guys are proving that they want to be there. Josh Farmer is back healthy. But Cory, I think, probably coming out of last year, would be that on paper. Again, there'll be a competition in training camp. But I think that's a good group."
With training camp on the horizon and now one less mouth to feed at defensive line, the Patriots have opened up the door for some of their younger players at the position to make a roster push. Players entering their second seasons like Gregory and Farmer now have a better shot to make an impact after they both dealt with injuries as rookies.
"(Our chemistry) is extremely important," Durden said earlier this year. "I feel like we were the best position group on the team last year, the (defensive) tackles. So, I feel like that's the expectation this year. We're going into this year feeling like we're going to be the best position on the team.
"I feel like we're going to be one of the best tackle rooms in the NFL this year."
Rookies are scheduled to report to Gillette Stadium on July 22 ahead of the first training camp practice three days later.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/patriots/onsi as What Moving On From Travis Shaw Means For Patriots Defensive Line .
