Thursday Patriots Notebook 7/31: Role Beginning to Come Into Focus For Rookie, LB Making a Strong Push

Some Patriots news and notes for this morning:

1) This is generally the time in training camp where some players begin taking hold of a role, and so far this preseason, it appears that rookie offensive lineman Jared Wilson may have taken the lead at the left guard spot.

Wilson seemed to be in the initial mix at center, but the quarterback/center exchange has been an issue, which appeared to have hampered his opportunity in the reps he saw there. Instead, after also being part of the competition at left guard against Cole Strange, the rookie spent a good portion of Wednesday’s practice there with the first team, while Strange worked with the back-ups at the start of practice.

That ended up being how things remained. That’s clearly good news for Wilson, potentially signaling that the rookie is now in line to win the job, provided he can keep it going for the next month, beginning when the club holds its first joint practices next week against the Commanders.

Meanwhile, Strange ended up getting some time at center on Wednesday, with his work there last season being something Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel praised him for earlier this offseason. However, even with Garrett Bradbury sidelined, Strange was simply part of the rotation, and last year’s starter, Ben Brown, ended up as the top player there ahead of him.

Dec 17, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots guard Cole Strange (69) is carted off the field during the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

(PHOTO: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)

That’s not a great sign, and Strange is in a tough spot. With multiple younger players battling for roles, he’s in the final year of his deal, with the Patriots declining his fifth-year option over the offseason. He’s also coming off of a significant knee injury that cost him a good portion of last season.

What gets a little lost here is the fact that Strange tried to be a good soldier in 2023 after suffering a knee injury early in camp. Rather than have surgery, he opted to battle through it and instead ended up injuring it further when he was finally knocked out of action in Week 15 against the Chiefs.

That cost him a significant portion of last offseason, and there were fears at the beginning of the year he might not have played at all in 2024. As it was, Strange didn’t begin practicing with the team until Week 12, and finally saw action in Week 15 against the Bills where he played three snaps on special teams. He closed out the season playing 100% of the snaps over the final two games, both of which saw him get the starting nod at center.

As a result, that decision – at least given where he’s at right now – may have seemingly been career-altering, which has to be frustrating for the former Chattanooga standout.

Barring a standout performance (and he also experienced a bad snap on Wednesday), it’s going to be tough for him to crack the starting role at either spot. If that’s the case, he faces a difficult road over the coming weeks as the club continues trying to establish its group of five up front heading into the 2025 season.

2) Meanwhile, after joining the team, Boston College alumn Alex Lindstrom was on the field Wednesday, with the former Eagle joining the mix at that position.

What’s interesting about his signing is that Lindstrom wasn’t listed among any players who had visited or tried out with New England ahead of his addition, but based on the league’s transactions, he tried out in Cleveland with the Browns the day before joining the Patriots.

Given the connections that New England’s front office still has in Cleveland, it’s possible they garnered some intel from Lndstrom’s workout there, and it opened up the door for his opportunity here.

Whether or not he can crack the top of the line-up remains to be seen. He spent Wednesday working with the back-ups and likely faces an uphill battle in seeing any meaningful snaps. However, he did have a couple of good moments, including coming out on the right side of things during one-on-one drills early in practice.

Jul 28, 2025; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots linebacker K'Lavon Chaisson (44) heads to the practice fields for training camp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images

(PHOTO: Eric Canha-Imagn Images)

3) K’Lavon Chaisson continues to have a good camp. He was disruptive again on Wednesday, making several notable plays, and he just seems to keep getting more and more confident with each passing day.

He came out on the right side of several battles, including making things difficult on rookie left tackle Will Campbell. He’s off to a great start through the first week and seems to be building some momentum to possibly earn a role in 2025.

He was in good spirits last week, telling reporters that he’s enjoying his time here and he’s excited for the opportunity ahead.

“Excited to be a part of an exceptional franchise like this, for sure,” said Chaisson. “I was just telling a couple of guys, this is my first time being a part of a training camp with so many people out here on the opening day. So I’m feeling the energy and excitement going into this year. I’m looking forward to it for sure. ”

4) Kyle Williams continues to string some good practices together. He made several plays again on Wednesday, including a terrific over-the-shoulder grab on a perfectly thrown ball by Drake Maye.

That play went for over 40 yards and is just one of many nice plays the rookie has made so far this preseason. Williams continues to impress when going up against the first team, and so far, he seems to be as advertised.

Big plays are something Williams said last week he loves to see, calling those “fast break football,” and that could be a phrase we end up hearing a lot in 2025, at least based on what we’ve seen so far.

“We like to call that fast break football,” said Williams. “So we feel like those plays we shouldn’t take off at any time. Those are plays. There’s a time for us to extend the field, extend drives, and everything. So when we get that, we look at it in our favor to go make some big plays down the field. ”

Odds and Ends

Keion White left practice on Wednesday. It’s unclear what the issue was, but he was knocked out of action during the first play of the team’s 11-on-11 portion of practice. Whether or not he’s back today will definitely be something to keep an eye on. … Austin Hooper made a big play on Wednesday, but that excitement was apparently short-lived. After catching a pass down the seam, linebacker Anfernee Jennings reportedly got his hand in and stripped out the ball, which spoiled what had been a nice moment for Hooper, who is just getting back in the mix after starting camp on PUP. … The kicker battle continues, with Andres Borregales and John Parker-Romo fighting it out as each player was a perfect 4-of-4 on their attempts on Wednesday, with both players essentially now a perfect 10-of-10 after their recent string. Parker-Romo hit 6-of-6 Monday, while Borregales matched that by hitting all six of his attempts on Tuesday. This one should be fun to continue to follow, as that position was definitely a problem last season. … Will Campbell didn’t have his best day Wednesday, with his former teammate and fellow rookie Bradyn Swinson joining Chaisson among players who got the better of him. These are the practices that force guys to get better, and Campbell certainly learned a lot based on how things played out yesterday. … Morgan Moses was out there Wednesday after leaving practice the day before. Vrabel told reporters this week that there’s a plan in place for the veterans as the club does its best to avoid any issues coming out of training camp, and the team seams to be trying to manage the workload of the 34-year-old tackle. … D.J. James continues to have a good camp, making several nice plays yesterday. The Patriots are in need of depth in the secondary, and so far, James has been a fun player to watch through the first week. … In addition to Lindstrom’s signing, the club waived both wideout Demeer Blankumsee and offensive tackle Yasir Durant, with Durant’s transaction including an injury designation. They also terminated the contract of veteran running back Treyveon Williams. They then added Lindstrom along with two tight ends, with both Tyler Davis and Cole Fotheringham joining the club. In addition to those two, they also had two more tight ends with a “passed physical” designation, with both Louisville’s Duane Martin and Auburn’s John Samuel Shenker appearing on the transaction report. Those two apparently didn’t make the cut, but the fact they’re exploring that position tells you they’re not thrilled with their depth behind Hunter Henry and Hooper, which would seemingly make that position one to keep an eye on moving forward as Jaheim Bell, Jack Westover, and Gee Scott all seem to be facing some pressure following those signings.

About Ian Logue

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.

View all posts by Ian Logue

Tags: 2025 Patriots Training Camp Alex Lindstrom Austin Hooper Ben Brown Cole Strange Drake Maye Garrett Bradbury Jared Wilason K'Lavon Chaisson Keion White Kyle Williams Mike Vrabel Will Campbell

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JimK

10 months ago

It will be good if Chaisson emerges opposite Harold Landry as the two edge guys that can pressure the QB. As Ian said, Chaisson’s name has been on reports daily and in a positive way. Milton Williams complemented Chaisson yesterday. It will be interesting to see if Chaisson can hold the edge on run plays. That edge play has put guys on the bench (Josh Uche). Can’t count on Keion White being an outside guy. We’ve seen that for 2 seasons. Anfrenee Jennings is a great hold-the-edge guy on the running game, which is important. However, you have to have… Read more »