MORSE: Patriots Veterans That Face Long Odds to Make the Team
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Which Patriots veterans are fighting for their jobs at Training Camp? Here are 8 players I believe will have a hard time making the team.
Juju admitted he was nowhere near 100% last season and that showed. He was a shell of his former self, making just 29 catches on 47 targets, 260 yards, 9.0 YPC, and just 1 TD. Rookie Wide receivers Jalyn Polk and Javon Baker are going to push out two veterans. Smith-Schuster is a slot receiver and the Patriots have too many players in this position. He will not be able to stretch the field from the wideout position, which is what the team needs. I was surprised that Smith-Schuster was not a June 1st cut for salary cap purposes.
Like Smith-Schuster, Thornton is being pushed by the rookies. Thornton has been a bust since being drafted. The 6’ 2” 185 lbs, wideout is very slight of build. The 1st time he was popped, he was hurt. In 2023, the former 2nd round pick in 2022 only played in 9 games with 3 starts. He was targeted 23 times but had just 13 catches for 91 yards, 7.0 YPC and no TDs. Thornton has the speed to get deep but doesn’t have the strength to fight for the ball in 50/50 plays.
Reagor had a big 98-yard kickoff return for a TD and his ability on Special Teams may give him a leg up in the competition for the final roster spot in the Wide Receiver room. If the team decides to keep 6 WRs, then Reagor is more likely to get that final spot. His receiving skills were subpar, on 23 targets, he had just 7 catches for 138 yards, 21.7 YPC, and 0 TDs. He has a reputation for drops, but because of the poor play at QB last season we can’t blame him entirely for the incompletions.
He has made it to camp, which is the 1st step to making the team. Jerod Mayo had made a statement this spring that he will have decided by the start of Training Camp who the top 3 QBs will be. Many took that to be the team would only have 3 QBs in camp. That is not true, they will have 4. The QB arms get tired in camp from all the throwing, and they need that 4th arm in camp. Zappe was cut at the end of camp last year and no one claimed him. He was re-signed to the Practice Squad and eventually added back to the 53-man roster. In 6 starts last year, Zappe had 127 completions on 212 attempts, 59.9 Completion %, 1271 yards, 6 TDs and 9 INTs. He is at best a game manager that will have a high completion percentage. It will be interesting the fight between he and Joe Milton for a possible 3rd QB. There is no guarantee they will keep 3 QBs, but it is safe to say they will not just have two rookie backups. The Patriots will probably sign a veteran to the Practice Squad.
The 2023 4th round pick (#112) was the highest selection of a Special Teams only player in Patriots history. Ryland is a shining example of Bill Belichicks failure as a GM. Ironically, San Francisco drafted Kicker Jake Moody in the 3rd round, the player the Patriots coveted. Ryland was flat out awful and if he wasn’t a 4th round pick in his rookie year he would have been cut. These are his kicking stats for 2023. He was the second worst kicker in the league with Pro Football Focus (PFF) FG/XP rating of 38.2. On 25 FGs Ryland only connected on 16 FG. He was 7 of 14 greater than 40 yards. That is putrid. I am very surprised the Patriots didn’t sign UFL kicker Jake Bates. They have signed veteran Joey Slye, but he was no box of chocolates last season. Ryland didn’t impress anyone during OTAs or minicamp. If a decent kicker come available Ryland could lose his spot on the 90-man roster quickly.
Just because he signed a team friendly contract doesn’t guarantee him a spot on the team. Uche has missed a lot of time at the OTAs this spring. The 6’3” 240 lb edge player has started only 3 games in his 4-year career. Last season he had 15 tackles and 3 sacks in 15 games. He is supposed to be a pass rusher, but when they needed him the last two years to fill in for Matt Judon he has failed to do the job. He must really like Jerod Mayo and think that Mayo can bring back the athlete that he once was.
Mafi was the beneficiary of the disaster that was the Patriots Offensive line. The UCLA grad is relatively inexperienced at playing Offensive Guard. At 6’3” 330 lbs Mafi is one of the bigger linemen on the team. Drafted in the 5th Round (#144) of the 2023 draft, Mafi converted from Nose Tackle at UCLA to Offensive Line in 2020 and has only 3 years’ experience on Offense. He was thrust into the fire of the NFL starting 5 games in the place of Cole Strange. Mafi has potential but needs a lot of work to get to the NFL standard. According to PFF, Mafi was the 2nd worst Guard in the league last year. The signing of Liam Fornadel from the UFL and drafting of rookie Layden Robinson, makes Mafi’s chances of making the team very low. As a freshman Nose Tackle at UCLA, Mafi weighed in at 411 lbs. Through hard work and diet, he has slimmed down to 330 lbs.
Acquiring Wheatley for RB Pierre Strong was just another blunder by Bill Belichick the GM. This was a desperate move by Belichick who failed to address the Left Tackle issue either through the draft or by Free Agency. He stuck with Trent Brown, who absolutely porked Belichick and the Patriots. Wheatley has done nothing in his entire football career. The former TE was on the Michigan team for three years with one TD. Transferred to Stonybrook of the FCS and had 6 catches for 36 yards in 2018. He transferred again to Morgan State to play for his father, was hurt and didn’t play a down. He was signed as an Undrafted Free Agent by Chicago in 21, cut signed to futures contract in 22 by Raiders, cut, signed to the Practice Squad and then traded in 2023 to the Patriots at the end of Training Camp. He played in the first two games for of the season for the Patriots on Special Teams. He was injured and placed on season ending IR. They could of activated him off of IR but chose not to. I don’t know why he is even in camp.
I mentioned the tryout of UFL Offensive Guard Liam Fornadel last week. The Patriots had to wait for the UFL season to end so they could sign him. Fornadel was an All XFL player for the DC Defenders in 2023. He returned to DC in the newly merged UFL and was outstanding again. PFF had Fornadel, a Right Guard, as the 6th best O lineman in the UFL for pass blocking with an 82.4 rating. His overall grade was 79.1, 2nd best in the UFL. He gave up one sack in 2024 and none in 2023. Despite his impressive stats he didn’t make the All-UFL team. He did make PFF OG of the week 4 times in 2024. The James Madison product had 41 career starts and played in the CFL in 2021 for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. It will be interesting if Fornadel can push into the starting RG position and allow Sidy Sow to play Left Guard. That would keep Mike Onwenu at Right Tackle.
On Monday, OG Ryan Johnson, signed just a month ago, was released prior to the signing of Fornadel.
Bryce Baringer Qualifies for the Massachusetts Amateur Golf Tournament
Baringer the Patriots punter entered a qualifying golf tournament Tuesday for the Massachusetts Amateur Championship. Much to his wife’s surprise he qualified for the championship by scoring a -1 which was good enough to be the medalist of the event. The qualifying round was played at the Stockbridge Country Club and the Mass Amateur will be held in July in Framingham while the Patriots are still on break, before the start of Training camp.
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