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FOXBORO - When the Patriots tinker with their 53-man regular-season roster, they do it with a sledgehammer.

Less than 24 hours after setting the roster to meet the NFL deadline, Patriots' coach Bill Belichick pared two fairly big names off it Sunday in safety John Lynch and wide receiver Chad Jackson.

Jackson, an injury-plagued third-year veteran out of Florida, was a little bit of a surprise in that two relatively strong preseason games and the natural qualities of speed and athleticism seemed enough to keep him around.

Lynch, a 16th-year veteran recently released by the Denver Broncos, appeared to have shown enough - at least in run support, although his coverage skills appeared eroded by time - to keep him around as depth in the secondary.

But with nearly 700 football players finding themselves without jobs after Saturday's cuts, it wouldn't be surprising if Belichick and his personnel staffs saw a few names on the waiver wire that could be helpful to the Patriots. With 53 names in place - actually 54, if you count running back Kevin Faulk on the reserve-suspended list for the first game of the season because of his marijuana possession misdemeanor back in February - that means someone had to go. Both Belichick and Lynch left prepared statements about the latter's departure, an indication that it was an amicable split and that there might yet be room for Lynch on the Patriots' roster later in the season.

"It goes without saying but John is an all-time great safety, one of the league's classiest professionals and his elite play speaks for itself," said Belichick. "As has been the case in other situations, I would not rule anything out down the road.'

"I have no regrets about my time thus far with the Patriots," said Lynch, a nine-time Pro Bowl participant in his years with Tampa Bay and Denver. "The immense respect that I've long held for the organization has been only heightened over the past couple of weeks. I am going to keep all options open and look forward with excitement to see what the future brings."

One situation that may have precipitated the move with Lynch was a late-season injury to second-year veteran Brandon Meriweather. Belichick may envision a situation where he would need a swifter defensive back for coverage purposes in the specialty packages than Lynch would be.

In Jackson's case, it was more likely just a case where, as one of eight players on the original roster classified as wide receivers, he was excess baggage.

Selected by the Patriots in the second round (36th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft, the 6-foot-1, 215-pounder played in just 14 career games with one start, totaling 13 receptions for 152 yards and three touchdowns, four rushes for 22 yards, six kickoff returns for 106 yards and five punt returns for 83 yards.

Aside from his various injuries, Jackson was often chastised by his quarterbacks for not running the right pass routes on a consistent basis. He had two outstanding TD catches in the last two games, including an acrobatic "jump ball" catch in double coverage against Philadelphia, and a well-executed reaction to a Kevin O'Connell audible call at the line of scrimmage against the Giants.

But that apparently wasn't enough - and with C.J. Jones redeeming himself with two strong returns against the Giants, position flexibility apparently won out over potential.

The Patriots also finalized six of their eight practice squad positions on Sunday, recalling from their own Saturday cuts defensive lineman Titus Adams, safety Mark Dillard, running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, linebacker Vince Redd, defensive back Mike Richardson and defensive back Antwain Spann.