The New England Patriots have released veteran DE Adrian Clayborn on Friday.
Clayborn said goodbye to Patriots fans via his Twitter account:
Thank you @Patriots for my time with the organization. I gained so much respect for how you do things and win championships. It’s done the right way through hard work. Thank you for granting my release. I’m ready for this next chapter.
— Adrian Clayborn (@AJaClay) March 15, 2019
Clayborn’s role in the Patriots’ defense was limited last year and he saw very little playing time towards the end of the season.
Clayborn, 30, is a former first-round pick of the Buccaneers back in 2011. He played out the first year of his two-year, $9 million contract and made a base salary of $3.75 million for the 2017 season.
The Patriots signed him to a two-year, $12 million contract last year.
According to OverTheCap.com, releasing Clayborn will free up $3,937,500 of available cap space while creating $2 million in dead money.
In 2018, Clayborn appeared in 14 games for the Patriots and recorded 11 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 50 edge rusher out of 103 qualifying players.
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