Looking ahead to tonight, here are some thoughts and notes heading into the New England Patriots’ preseason opener:
1) Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said prior to the joint practice that tonight’s game is essentially an extension of practice, adding that the goal is to allow the players game reps that they’ll be able to build on heading into the regular season.
With only three preseason games, there’s not quite as much time to evaluate players down the depth chart as there was prior to the league taking one away in 2021 and going to 17 games. It’s also why this one is likely big for some of the guys further down the depth chart that may have not have gotten as many snaps during the club’s joint practice against Washington on Wedesday.
“The game is an extension of practice. The first preseason game is we’re going to play,” said Vrabel. “But Friday will be an extension of our work. It’ll be a game, it’ll give us an opportunity to go out there, but still just looking at it as a practice opportunity to continue to work and give guys the reps that we think they’re going to need for the season.”
As far as what that will entail, it’s tough to say. In the past, a joint practice was often where we saw the starters get game-quality reps in a more controlled environment, while the players further down the depth chart saw action during the preseason.
Quarterback Drake Maye saw a lot of action Wednesday, so it remains to be seen if he’ll be out there to begin tonight. Based on Vrabel’s explanation, it’s possible he could see time, but beyond that, it sounds like anything is on the table.
“I would say, most everybody that’s healthy should expect to play in the game,” said Vrabel. “How long they’ll play, I don’t know, but we have to prepare in football games and prepare to win football games, so that’s the mentality that we’re going to take.”
Maye put up a decent performance against fellow second-year quarterback Jayden Daniels, with the Patriots’ offense ultimately coming out with an edge after New England’s defense also had a good performance.
Still, it wouldn’t necessarily be a surprise to see Maye out there for at least a series. But as we’ve seen, anytime the starters see action in the preseason, it’s a risk, especially after Indianapolis quarterback Anthony Richardson recently took a sack in his first outing of 2025 against the Ravens and suffered a dislocated finger.
Hopefully for Maye’s sake, if he does play, he comes away healthy ahead of next week’s joint session and trip to Minnesota.
2) Rookie left tackle Will Campbell was tested Wednesday and overall did a solid job against the Commanders. It’s been a slow climb for Campbell, who has battled against Keion White and K’Lavon Chaisson and certainly had some challenging moments.
However, based on the reports, Campbell has spent the extra time in the film room and asked plenty of questions, with the former LSU standout putting in the necessary work to continue to improve. That translated into some nice moments on Wednesday, including Campbell really excelling in the run game. Vrabel said earlier in the year that being a physical team up front was going to be a focus, and that’s a challenge Campbell has absolutely risen to.
He’s another we can probably expect to see some limited snaps from tonight, but he’s also probably a player who everyone is nervous to see out there. The Patriots are in a tough spot because behind Campbell, they’re really challenged when it comes to depth at left tackle.
Vederian Lowe will likely hold that role heading into the season, but the hope is that he won’t see any playing time and if he does, ideally, it wouldn’t be for anything more than a game or two.
But seeing Campbell get some work and then getting him off the field is the preference. He’s quietly the key to how this offense will likely go in 2025, and they need him to escape the summer without incident.
3) One player that will be interesting to watch will be Marcus Bryant, who seems to be doing some good things as of late. He’s gotten work on both sides of the line, and where he lines up tonight will be telling.
The rookie has had a good camp so far, and he was someone Vrabel mentioned has improved with each passing day, adding that he’s been pleased with his progress.
“Marcus has gotten better. He’s trying to compete at left tackle and right tackle and when somebody goes down, or they’re not available, we just put the next guy in there,” said Vrabel. “And then we evaluate him, and if he earns the opportunity to stay there, he stays there. Marcus has done that, I think he’s gotten better each and every day. Played the left, switched over and played on the right, and did a nice job the other day at the end of practice.”
Whether or not Bryant can provide some additional depth at left tackle will be something worth keeping an eye on tonight. Honestly, it would be nice to see it happen. After seeing time at left tackle last year, Caedan Wallace seems to be more in the mix at guard, so it feels like he’s no longer part of the potential group battling for depth behind Campbell on that side. Bryant has also been in the mix with Demontrey Jacobs at right tackle, and the reports have been positive there as well.
But having a swing tackle that can help at both positions seems to be a role Bryant’s embraced, and tonight should give us an indication of where he might factor in this season.
4) We probably won’t see much if any of the starting wide receivers out on the field, which will likely allow guys like Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker, and Efton Chism III to see some extended action.
Baker is going to be interesting because he’s been on the rise as of late. He’s put together a couple of good weeks and genuinely looks like he’s doing the right things as he heads into his sophomore season.
Polk has seemingly dropped down the depth chart and it feels like he’s hanging on for dear life at this point. The former Washington wideout faces an uphill battle and needs to come out of this one with a couple of nice plays to at least give himself a chance to snag one of those final spots heading into the final two games.
Chism is going to be someone to watch. He’s looked terrific in practice and tonight should give him the opportunity to separate himself from the guys down the depth chart and grab some momentum. He seems to be on a slow climb, and tonight would be a good opportunity to prove he deserves to stick.
5) Kendrick Bourne’s injury last week came at a bad time. He’s dropped down the depth chart as of late, and his injury last Friday night came at a bad time considering that other guys are starting to make strides.
Still, prior to getting hurt, he continued to maintain a positive outlook and was someone the coaching staff spoke highly of. However, it’s possible the team will keep him out and allow him to get healthy, and the odds are pretty good that, as we get further into training camp, there will probably be another team that will lose a starter and end up as a possible suitor for him.
The Patriots already reportedly explored options on moving Bourne this offseason, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if that’s ultimately how things play out with the veteran.
6) Definitely curious to see how things play out at safety. Kyle Dugger recently dropped down the depth chart and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him out there for an extended period.
This is going to be interesting to watch, because Dugger needs to look like a man among boys tonight if he hopes to make a push to stick around here. With Vrabel coming in with essentially a clean slate, he and the coaches seem to be making it clear that it doesn’t matter who you are. Despite being a veteran leader in this defense, Dugger hasn’t been rising to the level of the guys around him, and the coaches have responded accordingly. Unfortunately for Dugger, it’s also allowed rookie Craig Woodson to see some additional time ahead of him as of late.
Needless to say, if Dugger is out there for any amount of time later in the second half, it’s definitely not a great sign.
7) Another player that will be curious to watch is Cole Strange, who has dropped down into the group of back-ups and he seems like he’s still battling to stick around.
He’s a player who, like Dugger, needs to prove he’s an all-star compared to the second and third string (or even 4th, 5th string) guys he could be battling against.
It’s been a tough road for Strange, who coming off an injury feels like he’s taken a difficult step backwards. With the club already having opted not to pick up his fifth-year option, his future beyond 2025 is already in doubt. Now he really needs to put together a good showing when he hits the field later tonight.
8) One other area that’s going to be interesting will be the battle of the kickers, which has definitely been a good one to date.
After a nice little streak of consecutive kicks, John Parker-Romo finally had a miss this week, while Andres Borregales‘ streak of makes has continued.
It’s tough to say if Vrabel will play both guys tonight or if he’ll alternate them, but getting them some time in front of the home crowd should allow us to see how they perform in a game setting.
It should also add some additional context to one of the more interesting competitions going on down there this pre-season. As we know, kicking inside Gillette Stadium can be challenging, and how they both handle it tonight will be key, especially given that the final two exhibition games are both in Minnesota (next week) and MetLife (against the Giants in 2 weeks).
Odds and Ends:
Tonight’s a big night as the Patriots will unveil Tom Brady’s statue at Gillette Stadium ahead of kickoff. That ceremony is set to take place at 6:00pm, with the 12-foot statue to finally be revealed. Robert Kraft said recently that they’ve had it in storage for more than a year due to Brady’s schedule, and now fans will finally get a look at it before watching the club battle the Commanders. … The Patriots recently worked out cornerback B.J. Mayes, per the league’s transaction report. Mayes was recently let go by the Philadelphia Eagles, and it appears that following Marcellus Dial’s recent season-ending injury, the team is still exploring their options to add some depth at corner. … Vrabel said earlier this week that games like tonight still provide value, due to the timing and the fact that there’s obviously live tackling, which they tried to avoid during the joint practice on Wednesday against Washington. “The games are important,” said Vrabel. “The games, to go out there and operate, and see the penalties, and the speed of it, and the timing of it, the time, with the two -minute and all those different things. The tackling, and being able to get guys to the ground, being able to break tackles, playing cut blocks, and all those things that we don’t see in practice.” … One other area that will be interesting to watch will be on special teams, which will come into play due to the new kickoff rules. It’s also an area where guys sometimes earn a role, and Vrabel was asked if there were any “Larry Izzo” type of things when it comes to that as watches guys compete on that unit. “Well, passion for playing football. Competitive spirit,” said Vrabel when asked about what traits he looks for. “Production, I think, would be the biggest thing. Understanding the speed and space and blocking angles. It’s a skill and it’s an art and certainly Larry did it as well as anybody. So I would say that the competitive spirit would probably be at the top of the list if you’re looking for adjectives to describe Larry.”
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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.
