Patriots Cut Tight Ends - NYTimes.com The New England Patriots released the veteran tight ends Jake Ballard and Daniel Fells in the first batch of final cuts. Now comes the really hard part. The Patriots released 10 players on Friday and must reduce their roster by 12 more to get down to the N.F.L. regular-season limit of 53 by Saturday. Tim Tebow could be in jeopardy despite a decent performance in the Patriots" 28-20 win over the Giants in the exhibition finale Thursday. Tebow, the third-string quarterback, completed 6 of 11 passes for 91 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He was also sacked four times but got poor protection on some of them.