The New England Patriots added DE Kony Ealy before the NFL Draft with the hope he could help out their pass rush. But Ealy didn't even make it through the preseason with the team, as the Patriots have elected to cut him.
Patriots are releasing DE Kony Ealy, source said. Tried him in their scheme. Not a similar style to Ninkovich so it didn't work out.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 26, 2017
The Patriots gave up their second round pick (No. 64 overall) to get Ealy and the Carolina Panthers' third round pick (No. 72 overall). The Patriots reportedly tried to trade Ealy earlier this week, with no luck.
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Ealy has shown flashes of ability, including a great Super Bowl 50, when recorded a pick, a forced fumble and three sacks. But Ealy didn't improve the next year, with just five sacks (he has 14 in his career). The hope was that Ealy could provide a pass rush boost, but Ian Rapoport says there was a scheme issue as well.
Ealy will find a new team in the near future. Consistency has been an issue, but there are plenty of teams that run a 4-3 scheme that need help.
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