Patriots do some housekeeping, axe three

Wednesday was a day off for the New England Patriots, their first break from training camp that started last Friday - but for three roster hopefuls, their break will be of the extended variety.

 Lavelle Hawkins had his contract terminated by Patriots Wednesday

An underachiever, an overachiever and an relative unknown were handed their pink slips and shown the Gillette Stadium door, veteran wide receiver LaVelle Hawkins, veteran offensive lineman Nick McDonald and rookie free agent Perez Ashford becoming the first casualties of the Patriots 2013 camp.

Hawkins, the classic underachiever whom the Patriots signed on May 8th, was originally drafted in the 4th round out of California in 2008 and made a few ripples as a punt returner, but was never a factor in their offense despite having electric speed.

Patriots' fans should take Hawkins' early release as a sign of optimism from the coaching staff that the younger receivers in camp are progressing at a good clip, particularly in light of the fact that two of them, veteran Julian Edelman and rookie free agent Mark Harrison, haven't even seen the field yet.  That leaves Danny Amendola and Michael Jenkins as the only receivers on the roster with any NFL experience.

The rest of the wide receiver depth chart is made up of practice squad Jack-in-the-box Kamar Aiken, draft picks Aaron Dobson and Josh Boyce and rookie free agents Kenbrell Thompkins and Quinten Sims - for a total of nine receivers competing for no more than five spots on the roster.

McDonald was a bit of a long shot, despite the length of his tenure and his dependability and versatility.  Released due to a failed physical, Foxboro Forum had the fifth year veteran relinquishing his roster spot to Tyronne Green and would have had a tough time making the 53 man roster.

The Patriots' camp roster now stands at 87 players, and it is nearly a month before the they will have trim their roster to 75 players in accordance with the league mandate.