3 biggest surprises during Patriots' roster cut-downs

3 of the biggest surprises that took place when New England shaved their team down from 90 to 53 players.

Cut-down day took play across the NFL on Saturday, a day in which all teams are to finalize their 53-man rosters before the regular season begins. It's a tough day for a lot of players, as most of them are looking for jobs by the 4 p.m. deadline. But for some, it's a day in which their lives change because they make a roster and get to play for an NFL team going forward. 

For the New England Patriots, there were some surprising roster decisions that transpired over the two days following their preseason finale loss to the Giants Thursday night. Let's take a look at three of the most surprising moves they made as they finalized their 53-man roster.

3) Brian Hoyer released after losing QB battle to rookie Jarrett Stidham

The ongoing debate in the preseason was whether the Patriots would keep veteran backup Brian Hoyer now that they had rookie QB Jarrett Stidham on the roster. Stidham had a very strong preseason, which made one wonder if the team would try and shop Hoyer to another organization in need of an experienced backup, or if the team could possibly keep three QBs on their roster heading into the regular season. Though the former could have happened, the latter didn't. 

The team decided to move on from Hoyer, who is now a free agent. Stidham is now the Tom Brady's backup, and Hoyer is looking for a job. 

Hoyer will likely find a new team before the weekend is over. He will be a coveted backup option for many teams in the NFL, which goes to show how much the Patriots think of Stidham to let the veteran walk without getting compensation for him. 

2) Demaryius Thomas released after 2 TD performance in preseason finale

Receiver Demaryius Thomas, who was activated from PUP approximately a week and a half ago, seemingly had a roster spot locked up following the team's preseason finale. During that game, Thomas had seven receptions for 87 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately for him, the Patriots have a loaded roster and not much wiggle room to keep him...for now. 

As Doug Kyed of NESN mentioned, if New England places someone on injured reserve-return, then it's very likely the team could bring back Thomas and make use of his services. Mike Giardi of NFL Network reported that both parties have an interest in making that happen. But nevertheless, his release is still surprising, and very telling of how deep the Patriots roster is this season. 

1) Gunner Olszewski makes the 53-man roster in a crazy turn of events

This one was insane. At around 11 a.m. on Saturday, it was reported by ESPN's Mike Reiss that wide receiver/special teamer Gunner Olszewski would be waived by New England. From there, the intention was to shift Olszewski to the Patriots practice squad if he were to go through waivers unclaimed. 

However, at about 3:45 p.m., which was 15 minutes before the 53-man roster had to be finalized, New England traded cornerback Keion Crossen to the Houston Texans, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. This is important, because the team's follow up move was notifying Olszewski that they would keep him on the active roster now that they had the space for him. 

As a former D-II cornerback, Olszewski is one of the biggest surprises in recent memory to make New England's roster. His ability as a returner on special teams and a knack for learning quickly despite becoming a wideout this summer showed enough to the Patriots coaching staff that he could make an impact on their roster in 2019.