Pats Tuesday Notebook: Three Waived, Godchaux Official, and More

The New England Patriots waived three players, including a 2020 draft pick

The New England Patriots drafted a kicker in 2020 for the first time in 14 years, and now that kicker is gone after one season.

The team announce Wednesday it had waived three players, including 2020 fifth-round pick Justin Rohrwasser.

The others were linebackers Cassh Maluia and Michael Pinckney.

Rohrwasser leaves New England without having appeared in a game. He was among the cuts to the 53-man roster last year and then spent the season the practice squad before being re-signed to a futures contract in January.

The move with Rohrwasser came on the same day when the re-signing of veteran kicker Nick Folk became official. Folk is now one of two kickers on the roster, along with former Tampa Bay Buccaneers second-round pick Roberto Aguayo.

Maluia also was a member of the 2020 Patriots draft class. He appeared in nine games as a rookie.

GODCHAUX GOOD TO GO

Along with the re-signing of Folk, the signing of defensive tackle Davon Godchaux as an unrestricted free agent also became official Tuesday.

Godchaux reportedly agreed to a two-year contract worth up to $16 million after he spent the past four seasons with Miami Dolphins.

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Godchaux is one of three Patriots players who spent last season with the Dolphins, along with center Ted Karras and linebacker Kyle Van Noy.

THE DIRT ON DAVON

Speaking of Godchaux, Karras provided a quick scouting report on his teammate after playing with him in Miami in 2020.

“I got a lot better personally being able to practice against him," Karras said Tuesday. "(He's) a guy that I'm excited to work with again and play with. We get along very well and he works hard too and he's gonna be a good addition to this team.”

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THE VRABEL VIBE

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel caught seven touchdown passes in five seasons as a linebacker with the Patriots when he lined up on offense, something new New England tight end Jonnu Smith heard about quite a bit over the past four years.

“I actually got to watch his highlights, see how many touchdowns he scored in the league," Smith said Tuesday during a Zoom media session. "He liked to give guys a friendly reminder of how many touchdowns he scored. It was kind of a joke we had with the tight ends and receivers.”

Smith had 16 touchdown catches in his first seasons playing with Vrabel, eight of them coming in 2020.