Some Patriots news and notes on this Tuesday:
Key Returning Players in 2024
The New England Patriots saw its fair share of injuries last season, seeing some key names go down, which left the club in rough shape for much of the 2023 campaign.
It now has a surprisingly long list of players who will make this team a little more formidable than people might think, and here’s a quick rundown:
LB Matthew Judon – Judon is obviously coming off his elbow injury that sidelined him for the majority of last season. The veteran suffered the injury during Week 4 against Dallas and appeared on the injury report over the next two weeks as a non-participant, before the club finally placed him on injured reserve. He had gotten off to an incredible start, totaling 4 sacks and 9 QB hits, as well as 5 tackles for a loss, along with a safety before his season was cut short.
CB Christian Gonzalez – The rookie looked terrific in what little time we saw him in 2023, with a shoulder injury in Week 5 against the Saints ending his season as he was seemingly just coming into his own. To that point, Gonzalez had totaled 17 tackles, along with a sack, an interception, and three passes defended.
OT Calvin Anderson – Anderson is a player who has been talked about a lot recently thanks to a terrific piece from The Boston Globe’s Christopher Price where we learned that the veteran dealt with malaria ahead of last preseason. Despite that, Anderson still played in 100% of the snaps over the first two weeks of the season, before a hit to his chest caused him to suffer a heart contusion, which saw him end up on injured reserve. Anderson has made it clear he plans on making an impact, and seeing him emerge at left tackle would certainly be a great story.
LB Raekwon McMillan – McMillan is a player who saw time on defense in 2022, playing in every game except for Week 3 (inactive), while being relegated to just special teams in Week 4. He didn’t get to build on that after he missed all of 2023 after tearing his Achilles in OTAs last offseason, which is unfortunate because there were high expectations for him heading into last season.
DT Daniel Ekuale – The veteran defensive lineman was having an absolutely terrific season to begin 2023, before a torn biceps he suffered in Week 3 saw him end up on injured reserve. He was disruptive up front in what few games he played, finishing with three tackles including two solo. He’s quietly going to be a player to watch up front this preseason.
CB Marcus Jones – The second-year defensive back went down with a shoulder injury in Week 2 following a tackle of receiver Jaylen Waddle, which saw his sophomore season stopped short after he suffered a torn labrum. Jones had looked good up to that point, totaling 5 tackles while giving New England’s defensive backfield some much-needed speed. One interesting factor is the fact that Jones also quietly provided an unbelievable change of pace on offense, which with this new group of players should now really make things interesting. If he gets out there on offense this time around, he will absolutely help them create mismatches, given how much more additional speed they have on offense this season.
CB Isaiah Bolden – Bolden was off to a solid preseason before a scary injury at the end of the club’s preseason meeting in Green Bay saw his season come to an abrupt end. Bolden suffered a head injury following a collision with teammate Calvin Munson, who came in low to put a hit on receiver Malik Heath and instead collided with Bolden, striking him in the head with his shoulder as he closed in. That left Bolden motionless on the field in what was a frightening scene. Fortunately, he avoided anything significant and after having nearly a full year to recover, it appears the second-year defensive back is poised for a return this season.
Overall, there are positions that will receive quite a boost on both sides of the football, which is another storyline to follow as training camp continues to creep closer. Improvement will be the key thing everyone will be hoping for this season, and they’re fortunately at least getting some help from guys who are already in-house heading into 2024.
Bledsoe Believes Van Pelt is a Perfect Fit
People enjoyed a laugh after what Drew Bledsoe said during the Tom Brady roast, but the former Patriots QB also had some interesting comments during an appearance on Up & Adams with host Kay Adams on Monday.
During the appearance, Bledsoe talked about former teammate Alex Van Pelt, who he spent time with during his tenure in Buffalo. He believes that Van Pelt, the Patriots new offensive coordinator, is the perfect person to guide rookie quarterback Drake Maye into his rookie season.
“One thing that he has that’s very, very significant going for him is Alex Van Pelt,” said Bledsoe. “We were together in Buffalo for a few years and, no disrespect to Zo [Scott Zolak], Alex was, from a backup standpoint, he was the one who had the best football mind, and he also has just this incredibly calm demeanor. He played quarterback in the league for a decade, and he’s six foot and chubby so obviously, he had to win with his brain. So I really think that Alex is one of those special quarterback whisperer kind of dudes that’s really going to help him.”
In addition to Maye, the club also drafted receivers Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, with players like Kendrick Bourne, second-year wideout Demario Douglas, and offseason signing K.J. Osborn expected to be factors in this new offense. Tight ends Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper are expected to also contribute, as is potentially rookie Jaheim Bell, who flashed last weekend during Patriots rookie minicamp.
Bledsoe believes that even with the questions they have heading into the season, Van Pelt will be the one to help them make the most of it.
“I believe that he’ll find a way, even with the limited weapons they have,” said Bledsoe. “He’ll find a way to get ’em moving.”
Odds & Ends:
Nice little side note on second-year offensive lineman Sidy Sow. Pro Football Focus put together a piece on the most underrated player on all 32 teams, with Sow getting the honor for the Patriots. Sow actually finished as the highest-graded rookie guard last season, with the publication giving him a grading of 65.3. They also gave him high marks in the ground game, with Sow receiving a grade of 71.3, which was 14th out of all the guards in the league. … PFF also rated New England as having the weakest wide receiver room heading into 2024, noting that they “could very well outperform expectations with a new coaching staff and better quarterback play, but it’s a room that has a lot to prove in 2024.” They rated the Bears as having the best group in the league heading into this season. … Bledsoe had another couple of funny moments on Kay Adams yesterday. On Brady, he was asked if the QB was one of his wines, which one would he be? “He’s such a dork these days,” he said via Sophie Weller of A2Z Sports. “It might have to be something non-alcoholic, like grape juice wine with avocados or some stupid sh** like that. Or, I don’t know, he’s from California so he’d be some heavily overpriced Napa Cabernet.” … One other amusing note. Adams also said that Maye was compared to Bledsoe and that “People are saying he’s more athletic than you are.” Bledsoe responded, “That’s a pretty low bar. I wasn’t exactly Lamar Jackson out there running around.” … The Patriots announced the signings of four rookie free agents, adding, linebacker Jay Person, offensive guard Ryan Johnson, running back Terrell Jennings, and defensive end Jotham Russell. They also released Ke’Shawn Vaughn.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
