NFL Roster Cuts: Patriots Release 20 Players On Saturday, Including LB Derrick Burgess

As was expected with the 53-man roster deadline of 6 P.M. EDT Saturday evening, the Patriots had a very busy day. To meet the NFL requirement, New England cut 20 players, including LB Derrick Burgess, oddly enough. They also put safety Brandon McGowan on the injured reserve list, ending his 2010 season.

After releasing DL Damione Lewis and OL Eric Ghiaciuc on Friday, here's a complete list of who was asked to turn in their playbooks on Saturday (via the Patriots official Twitter feed): 

WR Sam Aiken
LB Eric Alexander
S Sergio Brown
LB Derrick Burgess
OL George Bussey
TE Carson Butler
RB Thomas Clayton
WR Buddy Farnham
WR Darnell Jenkins
OL Ted Larsen
TE Rob Myers
OL Rich Ohrnberger
WR Rod Owens
QB Zac Robinson
RB Chris Taylor
DB Ross Ventrone
OL Thomas Welch
LB Thomas Williams
CB DeAngelo Willingham
LB Pierre Woods

The biggest surprise obviously is Derrick Burgess, writes Pats Pulpit.

The biggest surprise has got to be the release of defensive end/outside linebacker Derrick Burgess.  Burgess had been starting with the 1st team since he returned to the team in mid-August.  While he hadn't looked impressive, he still was starting, and after all, he was welcomed back pretty openly after considering retirement at the beginning of training camp.  With Burgess as well as Pierre Woods out of the picture, the Patriots have Tully Banta-Cain, Marques Murrell, Ron Ninkovich, and Jermaine Cunningham left at the outside linebacker position.  While they seem thin there, rookie Jermaine Cunningham may be ready to come back this week, according to Ian Rapoport.

A day before the final deadline for NFL teams to trim their rosters down to 53, the New England Patriots moved one step closer to getting under the benchmark when they cut center Eric Ghiaciuc. The veteran has previously bounced around between the Cincinnati Bengals, San Diego Chargers, Cleveland Browns and the Kansas City Chiefs. More updates as they become available in the next 24 hours.

ESPN's Adam Schefter and ESPNBoston's Mike Reiss are reporting that New England Patriots defensive lineman and ten year NFL veteran Damoine Lewis has been released. Lewis was projected on the team's depth chart as either the fifth or sixth lineman.

Lewis had dressed for the preseason finale against the New York Giants Thursday night, and did see some time on the field. He finished the preseason with 3 assisted tackles.

Reiss suggested that this release may not spell the end of Lewis in a Patriots uniform:

"Sometimes teams release veterans before the final cutdown day and then bring them back after the first game so they don't have to guarantee a full season's salary, so perhaps the Patriots have that in mind with Lewis…"

Lewis spent the last four seasons with the Carolina Panthers. Prior to that, he was a member of the St. Louis Rams for five seasons.

Leigh Bodden commented on his situation via Twitter earlier this evening:

Leigh Bodden's season-ending trip to the injured reserve is due to a rotator cuff problem, according to a couple of sources.

Bodden had been suffering knee problems throughout camp.