Patriots' Draft Move Signals Bad News for Last Member of Dynasty

The New England Patriots could be parting ways with the last remaining member of their dynasty.

Dec 1, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona (49) walks out of the player's tunnel before a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

The New England Patriots won six Super Bowls between the 2001-02 and 2018-19 NFL campaigns, appearing in nine of them. Based on how the Patriots have looked for the bulk of the last five seasons, that seems like ancient history.

However, New England actually does have one remnant of that dynasty on its roster: long snapper Joe Cardona.

Cardona has been with the Pats since 2015, helping them win a couple of Super Bowls, but his time in Foxborough could be coming to an end.

The Patriots selected Vanderbilt long snapper Julian Ashby in the seventh round of the NFL Draft this past Saturday, which has put Cardona's roster spot in jeopardy, via Chad Graff of The Athletic.

"Long snapper Joe Cardona is the only player on the Patriots roster who was with the team for their last Super Bowl," Graff wrote. "Now his spot is in question as [Mike] Vrabel's roster turnover continues. You usually don't draft a long snapper only to cut them."

That Vrabel is overhauling New England's roster does not come as a surprise. Vrabel surely wants his own players, and not only that, but you probably don't want to keep many guys from a team that just posted back-to-back four-win campaigns.

Cardona has been a rather unassuming member of the Pats throughout his decade-long tenure, which doesn't come as much of a surprise. After all, he didn't exactly play a glamour position. That being said, he has been very reliable throughout his time with the franchise.

Since being selected in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft, the Navy product has missed just four games, with three of those absences coming in 2022. He sat out only one contest this past year. He also logged 20 tackles during his time with the Patriots.

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