MORSE: Patriots Pre-Season Preview for Game #3 Versus New York Giants

What to Look For in Pre-Season Game #3

Neither team will play any of their starters or perhaps any players they have determined will make the 53-man roster.

Two Veterans on the Trade Block

Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald has stated that both SS Kyle Dugger and EDGE Anfernee Jennings are available in trade. Dugger has zero trade value. His $9M contract makes him untradeable unless the Patriots are willing to absorb a large chunk of that contract. Dugger is also 29 years old and can’t cover anyone. Jennings has value, which was evident in the three sacks he had in the Vikings’ pre-season game. Unfortunately, Jennings just doesn’t fit this defense. I would throw in LB Jahlani Tavai and WR Kendrick Bourne into the trade bucket. Bourne is hurt, and that makes it difficult to trade him. Tavai is another player who doesn’t fit the new Defense. However, the Patriots are thin at backup ILB with only Jack Gibbens.

Injuries

Injuries happen in Training Camp. The Patriots have had their fair share with 6 players already on IR (Yasir Durant, Lan Larison, Brock Lampe, Marcus Dial, Isaiah Iton and Jaquelin Roy).

The following players did not practice this week and are unlikely to play on Thursday night:

WR Javon Baker, WR Efton Chism III, CB Christian Gonzalez, OLB Anfernee Jennings, WR Kendrick Bourne, RB Terrell Jennings, WR Ja’Lynn Polk, ILB Cam Riley, ILB Jahlani Tavai, TE/FB Jack Westover. WR Kyle Williams

Mike Reiss is reporting that Javon Baker is going to New York for the game Thursday. If he plays, that is not a good sign for him to make the team.

That’s 5 WR hurt and 4 other WR (Diggs, Douglas, Hollins and Boutte) very unlikely to play.

The Patriots had to go out and sign three players this week just so they would have enough players to play in the games Thursday. WR Phil Lutz (Tufts and Delaware) will get a lot of snaps Friday. Yesterday they signed RB Micah Bernard and DT Philip Bildi. I expect to see both of them play Thursday.

Kicking Competition

There are very few jobs still available. The biggest competition is in the Kicking Game and on Special Teams. If a player on the fringe can show he can contribute on Special Teams will go far in securing a spot on the 53-man roster.

The Kicking Competition has been terrific all Training Camp. Yesterday each kicker made all their kicks. It may come down to the kickoff difference. Last week John Parker-Romo didn’t put his kickoff in the designated receiving zone (new kicking rules) and the Patriots were penalized by having the ball placed at the 40-yard line.

Backup Offensive Line Spots are up for Grabs

I would say the top 6 Offensive Lineman are set in Campbell, Wilson, Bradbury, Brown, Onwenu and Moses are set. Vederian Lowe, Caedan Wallace, Cole Strange, Sidy Sow and to a lesser extent Marcus Bryant are competing for 3 positions. I think Bryant has really come on in camp and has secured the swing Tackle role. If Strange can play well at Center, he might grab a spot because of his versatility to be able to play Guard. That leaves one spot open. Play Thursday night could determine who gets that final spot.

Safety Battle

Marcus Epps and Dell Pettus may be battling for one position. I have both players making the team and veteran Kyle Dugger being jettisoned. UDFA Jordan Polk made a great effort on Special Teams tackling a Kick Returner from behind, preventing a TD, which the Defense made a Red Zone stop. That kind of play goes a long way when coaches have to make a decision on who to cut and who to keep.

Cornerback

DJ James returned to practice as did Miles Battle. Isaiah Bolden, Kobbe Minor and UDFA Brandon Crossley look to be battling for two spots. These two players must be able to play on Special Teams. Look for the Special Teams battle to make the difference.

EDGE

Bradyn Swinson, Truman Jones and Elijah Ponder are duking it out for a couple of spots. I find it hard to believe that the 5^th round selection Swinson will get cut. Truman Jones has had a good camp and won an offseason award by the team for his participation in the offseason program. Ponder is a very good UnDrafted Free Agent who has impressed the coaches with his ability and flexibility to bend on the pass rush.

Ponder Impresses Coaches

This little throw-away line from a Mike Reiss tweet today. OLBs coach Mike Smith in his press conference has this to say about UDFA Elijah Ponder – “Vet feel to him; probably one of best free-agents I’ve ever seen.”

I made a mistake on my last 53-man roster project and had Ponder not making the team, stating that he probably gets claimed if he was waived. Perhaps I was wrong based upon the statement by LB coach Mike Smith above. Smith is one of the best coaches for developing pass-rushers and keeping Ponder because of his potential is likely. Another point is that Ponder is playing on 3 of the 4 Special Team units and it was Ponders key block that sprung TreVeyon Henderson for his 100-yard Kickoff Return in the 1^st Pre-season game.

Patriots Sign Two and Waive Two

Micah Bernard signed the 5’10” 206-pounds running back, who ran a 4.38 40-yard dash. Bernard was selected for Bruce Feldman’s Freak’s List – ranked #70. Feldman wrote “The 6-0, 202-pound sophomore broad-jumped 10-9 1/2, clocked 4.42 in the 40 and vertical-jumped 38 1/4. Teammate Clark Phillips gushed about Bernard’s Freak credentials, pointing out the guy who is barely 6 feet can do 360 (degree) dunks.”

As a Junior in 2022, Bernard carried the ball 96 times for 480 yards and a 5.0 YPC. He also had 30 receptions for 298 yards. However, he only played in one game in 2023 and that was because of an off-field injury (unknown). In 2024 he bounced back with 197 carries for 1009 yards and 4 TDs. He also caught another 30 passes for 150 yards and two TDs. He went undrafted and signed as an Undrafted Free Agent with the Tennessee Titans and was cut recently.

Defensive Tackle Philip Blidi, 23, was originally signed by Tennessee in May as part of the club’s undrafted class of 2025. The 6-foot-3, 297-pound rookie defensive tackle was waived on Sunday after recording a pair of tackles in his NFL preseason debut. Across 59 collegiate games, Blidi tallied 91 tackles, 3.5 sacks and one fumble recovery through stops at Texas Tech, Indiana and Auburn.

Two players were waived.

Jereme Robinson, 25, landed in Foxborough in August and made his first appearance in the kicking game last Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Minnesota Vikings. Prior to then, he had joined Chicago Bears after going undrafted in 2025. The 6-foot-3, 263-pound rookie defensive lineman was waived as training camp got underway in July. A Kansas product, Robinson’s Big 12 career spanned 53 appearances, 98 tackles, 14 sacks, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.

Tre Avery, 28, was awarded to the Patriots off waivers from the San Francisco 49ers earlier in the month. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound cornerback played 41 snaps between defense and special teams in preseason action. Avery originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Titans in 2022. After spending his first two years on the 53-man roster, he began 2024 on the practice squad before being promoted and ultimately claimed. The Rutgers product has appeared in 38 career games, starting five, while totaling 65 tackles and 11 passes defended.

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About Mark Morse

Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.

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