Those that survived cut-down day keep playing. The rest are left waiting by the phone.
New England Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch (84) against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first quarter of an NFL preseason football game in Foxborough, Mass., Monday, Aug. 20, 2012.The nameplate hanging over Deion Branch's locker still stood at Gillette Stadium. His assortment of gloves were still neatly strapped around a metal bar, pointing toward the sky, as they always have. His boom box, which often competed with Chad Johnson's musical tastes last season, sat lonely, waiting for an iPod to bring it to life.
All the evidence suggested that Deion Branch's laugh would soon be heard echoing through the halls, announcing his arrival long before his signature smile popped through the door.
But Branch wasn't coming. While his items remained, waiting to be carelessly thrown in boxes and sent off following his release Friday, the player sat at home, stuck in purgatory, impatiently waiting for a call that may never come.
"I think of that on days when people go like last Friday. It's like, 'Man ,that could be me one day,'" tight end Rob Gronkowski said, looking over the media toward Branch's locker, one of the last remnants of New England's nearly extinct Super Bowl era. "It was definitely a tough time."
As Gronkowski finished speaking and reporters broke off into clusters throughout the locker room, an assortment of foreign faces were ushered into the locker room.
In one corner former Bengals fullback James Develin sat, unrecognized by the masses, filling out paperwork with a staff member. Center Matt Tennant, signed Saturday evening, rushed in, stopping at his locker long enough to drop off a few items before scurrying off to a meeting.
Up a few lockers, Brandon Lloyd, the new present of the Patriots' receiving corps, held court. Unlike Branch, who dressed next to Tom Brady, Lloyd's stall stands across the room, splitting the tight ends.
Lloyd was peppered with questions about his chemistry with Brady, place in the offense, and the progress he made during the preseason, but he deflected all inquiries with an 'I don't know' or a laugh. He was unaware that Branch, a former Super Bowl MVP and face of the franchise, was released and offered no comment after being informed of the move that shocked the region.
As he spoke, Greg Salas, a wide receiver acquired Saturday in a trade with St. Louis, walked across the locker room with a staff member, en route to pick up his playbook and other team-issued gear.
Lloyd, who played with Salas last year in St. Louis, said he knew nothing about the former fourth-round pick, but said he could identify him in a lineup if asked, even if there was no evidence of that Sunday.
But the temperature was different down the other side of the room. Those that have been around Branch and got to know him could feel the move reverberating throughout the stadium.
"It always humbles you. I think you got to realize how blessed you are to have the opportunity to continue to play," cornerback Devin McCourty said. "To get released, you definitely feel for those guys. Like I tell a lot of people, it's one of the worst days of being in the NFL."
But with that day in the past, as horrific as it may have been for some, life goes on for a new era of New England Patriots. The rest are left waiting by the phone.