The New England Patriots have gone through the first month of the offseason workout program one man down. That should soon change.

The Patriots have continued to roster safety Devin McCourty even though he intends to retire. That's because placing him on the reserve/retired list will spread his dead salary-cap hit over the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

If McCourty was placed on the reserve/retired list prior to June 1, it would have cost New England over $5 million in salary-cap space. Making the move official and processed through the NFL after June 1 frees up $1.165 million in cap space, so it was a necessary move.

The most obvious and exciting way New England could use that roster spot would be to sign free-agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. The Patriots have interest and will monitor his market, according to a source.

New England doesn’t have many gaping holes on their roster. They did have to place linebacker Raekwon McMillan on injured reserve, so perhaps they could add at that position. They were a little light on defensive linemen at OTAs on Wednesday with Christian Barmore, Davon Godchaux and Lawrence Guy all absent.

New England could make other moves to free up roster spots soon, as well. Long snapper Joe Cardona was not present for OTAs on Wednesday, necessitating the inclusion of Tucker Addington on the 90-man roster. Once Cardona returns, Addington would be expendable as an extra long snapper.

The Patriots have three more OTAs sessions scheduled plus three days of mandatory minicamp before the offseason workout program concludes June 16. The team then gets more than a month off before training camp.

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