Rookies Bolden, Francis, Fortson make team

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FOXBORO - Friday morning, Dane Fletcher was in the Patriots locker room recounting what it felt like at the cut to 53 when he was a rookie in 2010. "I came in and had a sick feeling," Fletcher explained."Even if you think you're on the team you still don't know if you're one of the guys. It's tough, especially that rookie year, wondering, 'Did I make the team or not.' So I asked one of the coaches, 'Did I make the team?' He said, 'One thing you gotta learn right now is, you never MADE the team, especially around here, you can be gone tomorrow.' That hit home. I said, 'Alright, so I made the team for today and I'll come to work tomorrow.' "The Patriots now have 52 players who can come to work tomorrow. They have room to add one more if they claim or sign a player. Or they can activate a player off a reserve list like right guard Brian Waters.

A few notes on the 52.Rookie running back Brandon Bolden did enough to make it, good for him. He brings a dimension of toughness and should be decent on special teams coverage.Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe made the team despite being injured most of his time here.The Patriots have eight perimeter targets between their four tight ends and four wide receivers.
The team went with eight offensive linemen as Donald Thomas and Nick McDonald both made it through.The team is deep at defensive end with six players including both veteran Trevor Scott and rookie undrafted player Justin Francis.Marcus Fortson makes the team as an undrafted rookie at defensive tackle.Tracy White, a special teams core guy, made the team as well despite his being sidelined a ton. Mike Rivera is the middle linebacker backup (or in the mix) behind Brandon Spikes.The six corners kept allowed the team to keep both Alfonzo Dennard and Sterling Moore.

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