Bill Belichick promised there would be a lot of moving parts, and he wasn’t wrong.

In the process of cutting the roster to 53 on Saturday, the Patriots made a flurry of moves, severing ties with several players who have been roster fixtures the last few seasons, including linebacker Pierre Woods and wide receiver (and last year’s special teams captain) Sam Aiken, as well as linebacker Derrick Burgess. In addition, safety Brandon McGowan has been placed on season-ending injured reserve because of a chest injury.

However, the Patriots were able to acquire Jarrad Page in a deal with Kansas City for an undisclosed draft pick. They also picked up linebacker Tracy White from Philadelphia for another undisclosed pick.

The biggest news came with the release of the 32-year-old Burgess. The former Pro Bowler, who was acquired prior to the 2009 season for a pair of draft choices, recorded five sacks in his only year with New England. While he improved over the course of the season (he had three sacks in the last four games of the 2009 season), he was absent through the first two weeks of camp. (He later said he had to deal with some personal issues.) And when he did get on the field this summer, he struggled.

In his place on the left side, the Patriots will likely turn to rookie Jermaine Cunningham, who did not play in the preseason, as well as veteran Rob Ninkovich and free agent pickup Marques Murrell, who played in place of Burgess at that spot when Burgess wasn’t in camp and started the first two games of the preseason for New England.

Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Woods, who was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2006, spent the last four seasons with New England working mainly as a situational linebacker as well as on special teams — in 52 NFL games, he has registered 62 special teams tackles. And the 28-year-old Aiken — last year’s special teams captain (he served as the punt protector) — caught 20 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns last year.

The loss of McGowan, who started 11 games last season, leaves the secondary without another veteran presence just days after cornerback Leigh Bodden was also placed on injured reserve with a shoulder issue. The hard-hitting safety matched his career-high with 50 tackles last year with New England, his first with the Patriots.

As for the players the Patriots picked up, Page is a 6-foot-0, 225-pound defensive back who was taken in the seventh round of the 2006 draft out of UCLA. The 25-year old started all 16 games in 2007 and 2008 for the Chiefs, coming away with a career-high four picks in 2008. (He has 10 interceptions over four seasons in the NFL.) He started five games last season, but his playing time decreased significantly after youngster Eric Barry began to emerge as a force in the Kansas City secondary.

Page was unhappy in Kansas City, and requested a trade over the summer — he only signed his restricted free-agent tender on Friday, a one-year deal. It is not known if New England is going to try and sign him to a long-term pact.

“Now to all the Pat fans I look forward to achieving great things with the team and I’m extremely excited to [be] a [P]atriot,” wrote Page on his Twitter page.

As for White, he’s a 29-year-old linebacker who goes is 6-foot-0 and weighs 230 pounds. Known primarily as a special teamer, the Howard product has been in the league for eight years, having suited up for Philadelphia, Green Bay, Jacksonville and Seattle. His best season came last year with the Eagles when he had 35 tackles in 16 games.

Other players who were cut were safety Sergio Brown, offensive lineman George Bussey, tight end Carson Butler, running back Thomas Clayton, wide receiver Buddy Farnham, wide receiver Darnell Jenkins, offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger, offensive lineman Ted Larsen, tight end Rob Myers, wide receiver Rod Owens, quarterback Zac Robinson, running back Chris Taylor, defensive back Ross Ventrone, offensive lineman Thomas Welch, linebacker Thomas Williams and cornerback DeAngelo Willingham.

As for the players who survived, some of the most notable are offensive lineman Nick Kaczur, who reportedly underwent back surgery earlier this summer and was believed to have been lost for the year; as well as rookie free agents Dane Fletcher (linebacker) and Kyle Love (defensive lineman).

And just as there were many moving parts throughout the day on Saturday, the same could be true going forward. Practice squads are assembled on Sunday, and most of the players who were cut do have practice squad availability.

In addition, the Patriots could give their struggling pass rush a jolt if they choose to go after defensive lineman Jarvis Green, who was cut by the Broncos on Saturday. The 31-year-old Green, who was taken in the fourth round of the 2002 draft out of Louisiana State by the Patriots, enjoyed eight seasons with New England and had 28 regular-season sacks with New England before signing a deal with Denver in the offseason.