Running back Kyle Eckel, carrying the ball against Cleveland last year, lost out in the numbers game yesterday.

The providence journal / Glenn Osmundson

FOXBORO — When he was a first-year, low-level assistant with the Baltimore Colts in 1975, Bill Belichick was Billy Bad News.

AKA the Turk, the most feared man in professional football.

The Turk is the man who delivers the news that a player needs to get his playbook and head to the coach’s office; he’s been released.

For obvious reasons, he is not a beloved man.

“I wasn’t really the one telling them [they were cut] but when they saw me, it was bad news. They knew that,” Belichick said yesterday. “They knew if I was in the area that didn’t bode well for them. If I wasn’t in the area, then the coast was clear.”

Though Belichick isn’t the Turk for the Patriots, three New England players were released yesterday as part of the team’s moves to get down to the NFL-mandated limit of 75.

Cornerback Jason Webster, fullback Kyle Eckel and offensive lineman Ryan Wendell were cut; in addition, guard Stephen Neal was moved from the active/physically unable to perform list to reserve/PUP and tackle Ryan O’Callaghan was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a shoulder injury.

Yesterday’s cuts and roster moves are just the beginning. New England must get down to the regular-season limit of 53 players by 4 p.m. Saturday.

Whether in August or October, releasing players is tough for Belichick.

“It is hard. The players work hard and give a lot,” he said. “Some of them have given a lot for a number of years; it’s not all rookies that we are releasing. You develop a relationship with the guys; they have won for you, played for you and given you everything they’ve got. It is one of the least fun parts of the job.”

Of the three players released yesterday, Webster is a bit of a surprise. The Patriots signed him as a free agent March 4; he spent much of last season on injured reserve in Buffalo after breaking his arm in the season opener.

But Webster injured a hamstring just three days into training camp, and only returned to the practice field Monday. In that time, however, rookie Jonathan Wilhite has developed, and New England was likely content with the players it has at the position.

Additionally, releasing Webster yesterday gives the nine-year veteran a bit of a head start in terms of finding employment with another club.

Eckel had not practiced since Aug. 1 due to an undisclosed injury; though he played in a dozen games last year, it was primarily on special teams. A rookie, Wendell was a long shot to make the roster.

Deciding which players stay and which have to be released is an ongoing process. Belichick explained yesterday that he and his coaching staff meet every day to get an idea of who’s hot and who’s not.

“We watch the practice film every day as a staff, and of course we watch the games. We talk about the players on a daily basis; it’s not like every Monday there’s a personnel meeting,” Belichick said. “Before each game we talk about the players, not only how we are going to play them, but how things are going. Then after the game we talk about them again, relative to how they played and relative to how we are going to practice them or use them the following week in practice.”

Injuries and the time the medical staff thinks a player might be out also play a role.

That clearly came into play with Neal, who suffered a knee injury in the Super Bowl. Players on reserve/PUP do not count against the roster number. According to league rules, New England can begin practicing Neal on Oct. 14 for a three-week evaluation period. On Nov. 4, the team must decide to activate him to the 53-man roster — and make a corresponding move — or place him on season-ending injured reserve.

smanza@projo.com