Pipkins was let go well before any depth issues were apparent. He left in June. Mone got hurt in Fall camp. The rest of the injuries struck during the season.
Michigan had extraordinarily good DL depth at the time of the decision. Pipkins was not expected to be a significant contributor as he would have been a backup to Glasgow, Mone, and Hurst at NT or Henry and Godin at DT. Not to mention younger players.
According to the TTB 2015 Season Countdown: “The nose tackle position seems to be in good hands, but those good hands do not seem to belong to Pipkins.” Pipkins ranked #66 in that countdown, between a 225 freshman DE and walk-on WR who caught 1 pass in his career. Neither played in 2015, which was seemed the likely path for Pipkins as well.
The injuries that piled up on the interior DL were unfortunate, unlikely, and unforeseeable. Before them, Pipkins was not a useful contributor. As a senior, that made him expendable.
