The Patriots will whittle down their roster to 75 players on Tuesday, September 1st by 4 PM EST. Just four days later, New England will have to bring their roster down to 53 players on Saturday, September 5th by 4 PM EST. Note that running back LeGarrette Blount won't count towards the 53 man roster, nor will quarterback Tom Brady unless the suspension is overturned by the courts.
For now, we will focus on the 75-man roster moves that will be determined after the Patriots play the Panthers this Friday. When looking at the current roster, it's fairly simple to cut the team down to 60 potential players as the difference in caliber between the players making the team (ex: defensive tackle Sealver Siliga) and those just trying to make it through the first roster cut (ex: defensive tackle Joe Vellano) is fairly obvious and considerable.