BY NICK ST. DENIS
There's been nothing but uncertainty surrounding the New England Patriots' tight end corps since the end of last season.
With Aaron Hernandez behind bars and Rob Gronkowski on the PUP list all summer, the Patriots had spent much of the year unsure of what the position would look like come September. They became a bit more sure Friday.
New England announced Friday it has released Jake Ballard and Daniel Fells.
The team had until Saturday to decide if Gronkowski would stay on the PUP list for the first six weeks of the season, but with the latest cuts, it appears New England will activate Gronk, which will allow him to return to the field at any time. He's still not expected to be ready at the start of the season.
Michael Hoomanawanui and Zach Sudfield now appear to be the two tight ends the Patriots will go into Week 1 with.
Fells saw action in 13 games last season but was buried on the depth chart behind the once-stellar duo of Hernandez and Gronkowski. Ballard has yet to play in a regular season game since tearing his ACL while with the New York Giants a year an a half ago.
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