Patriots Rookie Hilariously Reveals He Thought He Got Cut

A New England Patriots rookie hilariously opened up about thinking he got cut.
Dec 1, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk (1) warms up before a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium.
Dec 1, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk (1) warms up before a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium. / Eric Canha-Imagn Images
In this story:

New England Patriots rookie wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk has had a rough all-around first season in the NFL.

After being selected with the No. 37 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Polk was expected to be an immediate impact player. He has big-play ability and he was extremely productive during his college football career.

Unfortunately, he has been unable to make the kind of impact that the Patriots were hoping to see from him.

Throughout his first 12 games with New England, Polk has caught just 12 passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns.

Due to his poor play, he has not been given as many chances this year. In fact, he recently thought that he might have been cut due to his struggles as a rookie.

New England opted to move Polk's locker next to veteran wide receiver Kendrick Bourne's. However, they did not inform Polk of the move.

Instead, Polk came into work one day and his locker was gone and given to someone else. He thought the team had cut him.

“I had no clue. I came here one morning, didn’t realize it, didn’t look up and see my name was gone,” Polk said. “When I came back from watching film, I go to my locker, I looked up, and realized that wasn’t my locker. Then somebody else mentioned, ‘Hey, that’s not your locker’ like, ‘Where you go?’ I was thinking I was gone for a second. I was like, ‘Shoot, they got rid of me already?’'"

That had to have been a moment of panic for Polk. Thankfully for him, he is still on the roster and the Patriots are still holding out hope that he can figure out his struggles and become an impact piece for the future.

Polk certainly has the physical talent to be a dangerous weapon for Drake Maye in the future. He has great speed and route-running ability, but he has not been consistent. Drops have also been a huge issue for him so far this season.

All of that being said, there are still four games left in the season. Perhaps Polk will be given a bigger role and he can look to prove himself to close out his rookie year.

Make sure you bookmark New England Patriots on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!


Published
Evan Massey
EVAN MASSEY

Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst who covers college football, the NFL and NBA. He has contributed to the On SI network since July 2021. He has also written for ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, NFLAnalysis.net, NBAAnalysis.net and many other publications. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son.