Patriots hint at cutting ties with last remaining member of dynasty with draft choice

The last few remnants of the New England Patriots' second-wave dynasty have steadily been crumbling. Did the 2025 NFL Draft spell doom for the last player standing?

The Patriots got rid of center David Andrews and linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley earlier this season, and that left only one player remaining on the roster who had won a Super Bowl ring in New England: long snapper Joe Cardona.

No one looks back at the 2016 or 2018 Patriots and envisions a highlight reel of great Cardona snaps. But he's spent his entire 10-year career in New England to this point, and he's only ever missed four games due to injury.

However, the Patriots made a decision late on Saturday during the NFL Draft that could hint at Cardona's time in New England coming to a close soon.

On Sunday, Nicole Yang of the Boston Globe wrote that the Patriots' selection of long snapper Julian Ashby in the seventh round could spell the end of Cardona's Patriots career, as teams don't always acquire their long snappers in the draft and only carry one on the active roster.

"Cardona’s roster spot... is in jeopardy after the team drafted a long-snapper, Vanderbilt’s Julian Ashby, in the seventh round," Yang wrote.

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"Even Ashby acknowledged getting drafted at his position is a “toss-up,” so the fact that the Patriots wanted to lock him in with a late-round pick does not bode well for Cardona."

Long snappers are the ultimate specialists, and contracts have to be taken into consideration as well. The Patriots could get out of the final two years of Cardona's contract with just a $500 thousand cap hit, saving them over $2.5 million in total.

It might not be the training camp battle that draws the most eyeballs, but it will mark the end of an era if the Patriots go the younger, cheaper route.

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