Tough outcome for Mike Wright. The hard-nosed Patriots defensive lineman who made it into the league as an undrafted player from Cincinnati appears to be done as an NFL player because of concussions. The release Wednesday of Wright saved the Patriots 2.135 million against the salary cap but it had to be a hard call as Wright was the kind of success story the Pats embraced.How do we know this? Well, it was pretty clear Wright was a guy they enjoyed having in their organization, keeping him around after he went down with a concussion during the 2010-11 season, even after he missed final six games of that season as well as a playoff game. Still, he led the team that year with 5.5 sacks.
Ready to contribute this season, Wright suffered another concussion during the season opener in Miami.
The Patriots held off on putting him on the IR for four weeks, perhaps waiting to see if symptoms from the concussion would disappear.The symptoms stuck around, and the Pats had no choice but to place him on IR -- and ultimately cut a player who, if not for getting his bell rung too many times, would make a difference on a Patriots defense that could use difference makers.Far too often we hear of retired NFL players who aren't exactly pillars of health anymore, and now, a lot of that points back to concussions during their playing career.Here's to hoping Wright can get his health back and find happiness -- even if it's not in an NFL uniform anymore.