With another week of preseason in the books, there are more changes to our final 53-man roster. With some clarity regarding the status of linebacker Dane Fletcher and defensive lineman Jonathan Fanene, things have started to become a little clearer on the defensive side of the ball. Meanwhile, there’s also some shuffling on the offensive side of the ball.

While things are likely to change following Friday’s Patriots-Bucs game, check out who makes it and who doesn’t in our latest roster projection:

OFFENSE (26)

Quarterback (3): Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett. No surprises here, but it’s worth mentioning that even though there’s been some talk of Mallett challenging Hoyer for the backup spot (primarily because of their performances against the Eagles), Hoyer has still displayed an overall better body of work than Mallett to this point.

Running back (4): Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen, Danny Woodhead, Jeff Demps. Despite the fact that they would be rolling the dice on an intriguing prospect by exposing him to waivers, we have Brandon Bolden making it through to the practice squad. But even with that move, things feel a little thin here. If they try and get Bolden through to the p-squad, they could try and make a move somewhere else to add some depth. (Sammy Morris?)

Tight end (3): Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Daniel Fells. No changes from last week, as Visanthe Shiancoe remains an intriguing possibility as a possible fourth tight end, but he’s been unable to stay on the practice field because of injury. Fells’ removal from PUP earlier this week didn’t help Shiancoe’s chances.

Wide receiver (7): Brandon Lloyd, Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney, Julian Edelman, Matthew Slater, Deion Branch, Donte’ Stallworth. Even though we’re not sure it’s going to matter all that much as the season rolls on, we’re going to keep both Branch and Stallworth on the roster here because of a slight lack of depth at some of the other skill positions. It will still be interesting to see how it all shakes out, however. Jeremy Ebert has shown enough to land a practice squad spot.

Offensive line (9): Nate Solder, Brian Waters, Marcus Cannon, Dan Connolly, Ryan Wendell, Logan Mankins, Sebastian Vollmer, Nick McDonald, Dan Koppen. The return of Mankins and Vollmer will almost certainly help stabilize an offensive line that has struggled to this point in the preseason. One area worth watching will be the battle for the job of backup swing tackle between Cannon and Matt Kopa. If Kopa can beat out Cannon for the job, that might cause the Patriots to think about moving Cannon to guard, which would create some more roster uncertainty. But for now, we’re going with Cannon over Kopa.

DEFENSE (24)

Defensive tackles (5): Vince Wilfork, Kyle Love, Ron Brace, Brandon Deaderick, Gerard Warren. The release of Fanene earlier this week, combined with his solid performance against the Eagles, paves the way for Brace to land a spot.

Defensive ends (5): Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich, Jermaine Cunningham, Jake Bequette, Trevor Scott. Right now, the final defensive end spot is coming down to Cunningham or Justin Francis. Based on his performance this week, as well as his outing Monday against the Eagles, we’re going to give it to Cunningham for now, but it could change going forward if he slips and/or Francis plays well.

Linebackers (5): Jerod Mayo, Brandon Spikes, Dont’a Hightower, Bobby Carpenter, Niko Koutouvides. Dane Fletcher going on IR could clear the way for Jeff Tarpinian if the Patriots want to subtract somewhere else. That spot could also go to special teams’ ace Tracy White if he can ever get healthy.

Cornerbacks (4): Devin McCourty, Kyle Arrington, Ras-I Dowling, Sterling Moore. No surprises in this group, but the Patriots could add an extra corner at the expense of a linebacker (Tarpinian) or a defensive end (Cunningham or Francis). If they go that route, expect it to be either Alfonzo Dennard, Will Allen or Marquice Cole. (Cole brings special teams value to the table, which could give him an edge.) Dennard is an interesting case who could force them to make some tough decisions when it comes to cuts. Technically, they could put Dennard on IR for the season because of his hamstring, but he's ineligible for the PUP list because he's already practiced. And he's too intriguing a prospect to risk losing via waivers if they try and get him through to the practice squad.

Safeties (5): Pat Chung, Steve Gregory, James Ihedigbo, Tavon Wilson, Nate Ebner. No changes here from last week, as these five appear to be locked in. Wilson and Ebner wouldn’t make it through to the practice squad, so if there’s one candidate who might be on the bubble, it’s Ihedigbo.

SPECIAL TEAMS (3)

Specialists (3): Zoltan Mesko, Stephen Gostkowski, Danny Aiken. No surprises in this group. All three have had a very good camp and preseason to this point.

(*Editor's note: We forgot about the addition of Jeff Demps and Dan Koppen the first time through. They were subsequently added to the roster at the expense of Jeff Tarpinian and Donald Thomas. Excuse us while we go run a penalty lap.)