{"id":31113,"date":"2025-08-24T12:17:05","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T12:17:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113"},"modified":"2025-08-24T12:17:05","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T12:17:05","slug":"breaking-can-former-third-round-pick-survive-patriots-roster-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING : Can Former Third-Round Pick Survive Patriots Roster Cuts?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Oct<\/figure>\n

The New England Patriots, metaphorically speaking, have many \u201cSwords of Damocles\u201d hanging over them as the NFL\u2019s deadline for roster reduction approaches.<\/p>\n

The Pats face several difficult decisions regarding a number of position groups, which \u2014 for better or worse \u2014 must be made by 4:00pm ET on Tuesday. With their preseason slate now behind them, roster hopefuls have essentially two camp practices remaining on Sunday and Monday to catch the proverbial sharp eye of head coach Mike Vrabel and the Pats\u2019 roster-building brain trust \u2014 among them, Patriots safety-turned-linebacker Marte Mapu.<\/p>\n

Despite having aligned predominantly at safety for the past two seasons, Mapu has dallied into making the switch to linebacker throughout training camp and the preseason. In fact, the 25-year-old is now listed with the linebackers positional group on the team\u2019s\u00a0website \u2014 an effort spearheaded by head coach\u00a0Mike Vrabel\u00a0to make him a factor in the Pats\u2019 defense.<\/p>\n

Mapu has both practiced and played at various spots on the defensive side of the ball since first donning a Patriots uniform \u2014 including a brief flirtation with the hybrid role now assigned to him by Vrabel. As such, he has played both an off-the-ball role, as well as the deep safety spot. However, this summer\u2019s positional switch appears to have invigorated his game. Not only has he become a more consistent tackler, but his lateral athleticism has led to better hand placement and greater ability to shed blocks when defending the run. In two preseason games, Mapu compiled nine total tackles \u2014 five of which came during the Pats\u2019 preseason finale \u2014 and one pass deflection in their preseason opener.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Two<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Still, Mapu\u2019s 2025 preseason cycle provides only a small sample from which Vrabel and the Pats coaches may use when determining his spot \u2014if any \u2014 on the team. Accordingly, they are likely to also consider his previous body of work.<\/p>\n

Since joining the team in 2023, Mapu has been off to a slow start in his NFL tenure. The Patriots\u00a0third-round pick (No. 76 overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft played in 17 games and aligned on 204 (approx. 18 percent) of the team\u2019s defensive snaps during his rookie season. Mapu finished the year with 18 tackles, one interception, a pass break-up and a forced fumble.\u00a0Though he started 2024 on injured reserve, the Sacramento State product logged 46 total tackles, six passes-defensed, three forced fumbles and one interception.<\/p>\n

In the final analysis, Mapu may find his best fit within Vrabel\u2019s defense as a weakside linebacker. At 6\u20193\u201d, 230-pounds, he fits the mold of agile, athletic linebackers, capable of relentlessly pursuing the quarterback \u2014 a group which includes Robert Spillane, Jack Gibbens, Christian Elliss and\u00a0Harold Landry.<\/p>\n

Provided he is able to build upon his experience as a box player, training him for full-time linebacker duties could allow the hard-hitting defender to reach his potential, while becoming a significant factor in the Patriots’ defense in 2025.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The New England Patriots, metaphorically speaking, have many \u201cSwords of Damocles\u201d hanging over them as the NFL\u2019s deadline for roster reduction approaches. The<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31114,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-england-patriots"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING : Can Former Third-Round Pick Survive Patriots Roster Cuts? - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING : Can Former Third-Round Pick Survive Patriots Roster Cuts? - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The New England Patriots, metaphorically speaking, have many \u201cSwords of Damocles\u201d hanging over them as the NFL\u2019s deadline for roster reduction approaches. The\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-24T12:17:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/new-england-bau-46.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113\",\"name\":\"BREAKING : Can Former Third-Round Pick Survive Patriots Roster Cuts? - Breaking News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/new-england-bau-46.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-24T12:17:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-24T12:17:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/new-england-bau-46.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/new-england-bau-46.png\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BREAKING : Can Former Third-Round Pick Survive Patriots Roster Cuts?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"Breaking News\",\"description\":\"Explore top US sports stories, and live updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15\",\"name\":\"MrKen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MrKen\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BREAKING : Can Former Third-Round Pick Survive Patriots Roster Cuts? - Breaking News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BREAKING : Can Former Third-Round Pick Survive Patriots Roster Cuts? - Breaking News","og_description":"The New England Patriots, metaphorically speaking, have many \u201cSwords of Damocles\u201d hanging over them as the NFL\u2019s deadline for roster reduction approaches. The","og_url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113","og_site_name":"Breaking News","article_published_time":"2025-08-24T12:17:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/new-england-bau-46.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"MrKen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrKen","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113","name":"BREAKING : Can Former Third-Round Pick Survive Patriots Roster Cuts? - Breaking News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/new-england-bau-46.png","datePublished":"2025-08-24T12:17:05+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-24T12:17:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/new-england-bau-46.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/new-england-bau-46.png","width":1080,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=31113#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BREAKING : Can Former Third-Round Pick Survive Patriots Roster Cuts?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/","name":"Breaking News","description":"Explore top US sports stories, and live updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15","name":"MrKen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrKen"},"url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31113"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31115,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31113\/revisions\/31115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}