The Patriots have two open roster spots. Seventeen tryout players showed up at rookie minicamp to fight for them. That's the reality of roster construction in May—for every success story, there are bodies competing for scraps. And sometimes, buried in that competition, there's a gem worth finding.
Mitch McCarthy from Indiana caught attention immediately. The punter is 6-foot-5, 242 pounds, wearing No. 11, and standing out enough that observers took notice. In a room full of hungry players trying to prove they belong in the NFL, that's not nothing. Special teams depth is the kind of unglamorous but essential piece Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf have to address during the offseason grind. McCarthy's size alone gives him a profile worth monitoring—there's something to a punter who carries that frame and can contribute on coverage units if needed.
Then there's Peter Manuma from Hawaii. The safety measured in at 6-foot, 200 pounds, and he caught eyes as a genuine candidate for one of those two spots. Secondary depth, especially at safety, is always a moving target in the spring. Manuma clearly showed enough in limited opportunities to earn real consideration, not just a courtesy look. That matters. When scouts and coaches are crowded around a player in minicamp, it's because they see something translatable to the NFL level.
Here's the thing: we're not going to know for weeks whether either of these guys sticks. But the fact that the Patriots had to sift through 17 tryout players to fill two holes tells you something about the current state of the roster. There are gaps. Real ones. And filling them with undrafted free agents or camp invites isn't ideal—it's necessary. That's where the evaluation becomes critical. Vrabel's staff has to find diamonds in rough circumstances, because that's what two open spots means in May.
McCarthy and Manuma passed the first test: they got noticed. Now they have to keep earning it.