New England Patriots shuffle up roster

Ethan Campbell
Updated
New England Patriots
New England Patriots

The New England Patriots announced Thursday, two cuts to their roster. The team will be releasing both linebacker C.J. Johnson along with long snapper Christian Yount.

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Johnson, formerly a defensive end before moving to middle linebacker last season, was signed May 6th 2016. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound rookie, having played 81 games in his college career, boasted 180 tackles and three interceptions.

Yount, a veteran long snapper, played four seasons, starting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2011, before running with the Cleveland Browns from 2011 to 2014. The Browns released the long snapper in May of last year. The 28-year-old sat out last season. Yount, standing at 6-foot-1 and weighing in at 245 pounds, has 60 NFL games to his name. The former Browns long snapper was signed as a free agent back on April 22nd of this year.

Joe Cardona missed the optional training activities this Spring, while actively serving in the U.S. Navy. Cardona is a graduate of the Naval Preparatory Academy in Newport, Rhode Island. The snapper has yet to fulfill his military service. Secretary of Navy, Ray Mabus, stated recently while on the Dan Patrick Show, that Cardona had been assigned to a ship.

“We have Joe Cardona, long snapper for the Patriots,” said Mabus. “He played last year for the Patriots while he was on active duty because he was able to work them both out. He’s been assigned to a ship and he’s going to report to that ship, so he may need to leave the Patriots for a year or so in order to go fulfill that role.”

The 263 pound, 24-year-old’s Naval obligations could have prevented him from playing this season. So in case of Cardona’s absence, the Pats scooped up Yount to cover long snapping duties. Having two long snappers on a 90-man roster would be a waste of a slot, so Yount was more a contingent.

However, the question of Cardona’s availability seems to have been laid to rest now that the team has announced Yount’s release.

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