While it looked like Jalen Reagor might have gotten himself released by the Patriots, the move apparently had already been brewing.
Reagor, a former first-round pick by the Eagles, was cut by the Patriots on Tuesday — just hours after he posted a meme that seemed to indicate he was unhappy with his situation in New England.
However, the Boston Herald reported that the release wasn’t a direct result of the post on his Instagram and that the receiver had “expressed similar sentiments internally leading up to Tuesday’s roster move.”
Some fans had thought that the meme — a picture of a Bugatti parked in the driveway of a trailer park — had rubbed the Patriots the wrong way and they decided to cut bait.
There was no mention of the meme in a team press release announcing the cut, but Reagor did scrub his Instagram account of all posts.
Reagor had been a former first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and had been a member of the Patriots practice squad.
He spent the first two years of his career with the Eagles, who selected him 21st overall in 2020, before bouncing to Minnesota for a season and then playing the 2023 campaign for the Pats.
Reagor, 25, had originally made the Patriots’ 53-man roster but he was released and signed to the practice squad shortly after.
He was not active for the first two games of the season.
Reagor had played in 11 games last season for the Patriots and caught seven passes for 138 yards.
He also played a role kick returning, where he returned seven for 221 yards.
In 56 career games in the NFL, Reagor has made 79 catches for 937 yards and four TDs.
Last season, he spoke to MassLive on being labeled a draft “bust.”
“Now, my mind is different. I’m much more mature. Things don’t bother me anymore. I used to pay attention to social media. Now, I don’t. If somebody says I’m good, bad, or indifferent, it really doesn’t change how I feel about myself,” Reagor said. “It used to because coming in, as a first-round (pick), there’s pressure. Now, it’s so easy for me to play because I don’t have pressure. Everyone thinks that I’m a bust. So, it’s cool. Now, I can go play.”