Patriots Preseason Star Makes 53-Man Roster

Just last season, Chism finished the year with a school-record 120 receptions for 1,311 yards and 13 touchdowns. Additionally, he finished first in the country with 10 receptions per game.

Chism has been making waves throughout the fanbase and has emerged as someone who will be critical for New England's offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

The receiver started gaining traction in the first preseason game against the Washington Commanders and tallied a total of 12 catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns in two preseason games.

Following the first round of cuts, TE Gee Scott Jr, RB Terrell Jennings, DE Truman Jones, RB JaMycal Hasty, LB Cam Riley, OL Mehki Butler, C Alec Lindstrom, S Marcus Epps, TE CJ Dippre, WR John Jiles, CB Brandon Crossley, K Parker Romo, CB Miles Battle, and OT Demontrey Jacobs all also saw their release or were waived on Tuesday — not seeing the same luck as Chism and Ponder.

Ponder was signed by the Patriots as a rookie free agent also in May of 2025. In five seasons at Cal Poly (2020-24), he played in 47 games and finished with 167 tackles, just over 26 sacks, one interception returned for a touchdown, seven passes defensed, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two blocked kicks.

This preseason the rookie defensive end posted two solo tackles.

Another clue for Patriots fan that Chism was likely going to make the final roster should have been when he didn't see play in the preseason final at the New York Giants; with it being the norm of starters being given that game to preserve their health for the upcoming year.