FOXBOROUGH — A Super Bowl MVP, a Pro Bowl center, and the quarterback presumed to be Tom Brady’s top backup were among the players released by the Patriots on Friday as they whittled their roster from 75 players to the league-mandated 53.

New England is actually at 52 players: The team released 22 players and placed rookie Jeff Demps on injured reserve. Demps injured his lower right leg Wednesday night against the Giants.