Receiver Is a Longshot to Make Patriot Squad

National Football League training camps no longer have the look of a movie production with a cast of thousands.

An economy move instituted by league owners now limits preseason training-camp rosters to a maximum of 80 players. It is a new fact of pro football life that players such as the University of Connecticut’s Glenn Antrum must face.

It’s possible a free agent such as Antrum, who is in the New England Patriots’ camp at Bryant College, could be cut before he has the opportunity to take part in a full-squad practice.

“It’s conceivable that could happen,” said Patriots General Manager Patrick Sullivan.

The Patriots have 87 players on their roster, which means they would have to shed seven players if all 87 were under contract. But 13 players -- six rookies and seven veterans -- are unsigned, which will bring New England to 74 players under contract once the veterans report Friday.

In the past there was no roster restriction for the first few weeks of camp and teams often brought in 100 or more players. Now, every time an unsigned player comes to terms with the Patriots, someone -- Antrum among them -- gets a little closer to his release date.

“I know what it’s all about,” said Antrum, one of 17 free agents in camp. “It’s a business and I’ll treat it as a business. If you work hard and do the right things, you’re going to make the team.”

It’s possible the 80-man limit might not be a guillotine hanging over Antrum’s neck. After all, making the final 47-man roster is the ultimate goal and an 80-player limit won’t make it any more difficult.

“It’s easier,” Sullivan said. “There’s a lot more intense competition and you’re not lost in the numbers. For instance, last year we had 22 defensive backs and this year we have only 13 in camp. The result is you get more attention and more coaching.”

One of the reasons teams overstocked rosters in the past was to have enough players for practices. It saved a lot of wear and tear on the veterans and players assured of making the team.

But those days are gone, which is probably the main reason the New York Giants will spend a week of training camp practicing with the Patriots prior to their Aug.12 preseason game at Sullivan Stadium.

“With 80 players you don’t sign guys just for practice anymore,” said Dick Steinberg, the Patriots’ director of player development. “The players you sign and bring to camp have a legitimate chance to play in the NFL.”

Antrum caught a Connecticut single-season record 77 passes last fall to lead all National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-AA receivers. He thought he would be drafted but he wasn’t, and he signed with the Patriots, the only team he contacted.

Antrum is bidding to become the second Connecticut player in the past two years to make the Patriots’ final roster. Last year free-agent linebacker Eric Naposki made the club. Naposki was left unprotected by the Patriots and signed with the Dallas Cowboys during the offseason.

But Antrum has almost no shot at making the Patriots, who have veterans Stanley Morgan, Irving Fryar, Cedric Jones and Sammy Martin returning at wide receiver. New England also took Hart Lee Dykes on the first round of the 1989 draft and Michael Timpson on the fourth. The team is expected to keep just five wide receivers.

With Fryar and Dykes unsigned and not in camp, Antrum might be spared an early release.

“I can offer whatever they want,” the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Antrum said. “I can play special teams or fourth or fifth receiver. They are going to open up the offense and throw a lot more, so they need receivers.

“I’m not going to worry about who’s there, who’s in front of me,” said Antrum.

Steinberg said the Patriots were attracted to Antrum because of his speed and college production. Antrum, from Ansonia, Conn., finished as Connecticut’s all-time leading receiver with 186 catches for 2,552 yards (13.7 average).

Antrum was selected first-team All-America by the Associated Press and was a first-team selection of the American College Football Coaches Association. He also was named Walter Camp Football Foundation Player of the Year.