Patriots News 05-17, And Patriots’ Schedule Analysis
Patriots 2026 Schedule Analysis: Unpacking Key Matchups, Player Updates & Latest Team News
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Good morning, and a happy Sunday, and here is your Patriots news for 05-17, along with this week’s NFL notes.
We’ll discuss the 2026 regular-season schedule below, along with our thoughts on it. But first, the Patriots’ three preseason games are also set, and they are:
Week 1: Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts, 7:30 p.m. ET, Thurs. Aug. 13
Week 2: Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles, 7 p.m. ET, Sat. Aug. 22
Week 3: Patriots at Cleveland Browns, 8 p.m. ET, Thurs. Aug. 27
The opportunity for joint practices at Gillette Stadium will arise when the Colts and Eagles visit Foxborough for Preseason Weeks 1-2.
Especially, Philadelphia, that is, if the long-rumored trade for A.J. Brown, which is supposed to take place on June 2nd, as we’ve heard… ad nauseam.
Forged in Foxborough: The Patriots released the first episode of Season 2 of the reality show on Friday. It starts with the immediate aftermath of the Super Bowl loss to Seattle.
The show then shows the Scouting Department going down to the Senior Bowl, and comparing notes on players with the coaches and front office headed to Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine.
The episode then goes through the free agency period with nice snippets of the new players, Kevin Byard, Romeo Doubs, Reggie Gilliam, Julian Hill, K.J. Britt, and Alijah Vera-Tucker.
The draft segment followed with some emotional moments with Caleb Lomu and Gabe Jacas. The team allowed Nancy Meier to make the call to fifth-round pick Karon Prounty, as the draft ended Meier’s 50 years with the team. She joined the Patriots when she was just 19 years old and has since become an icon.
Hopefully, they’ll find a place for her inside the walls of the Hall. Another great job by the team’s video department, the next episode will already be must-watch t.v.
Jared Wilson: The Patriots’ second-year offensive lineman is switching back to his natural position at center this year, after playing left guard as a rookie. And he is very happy about the switch.
When he was asked about it this week, his answer was clear.
“Very excited. Very excited,” Wilson said, as quoted by the Herald’s Doug Kyed. “I’ll keep it at that.”
“Honestly, from guard to center, I mean, people say you gotta know all three positions on the interior offensive line. That is a very true statement, but it’s very different,” Wilson added.
“I was there before, played it in college, so I’m comfortable, but there are always things to learn, always new things to learn and things to tweak.”
Wilson pointed out that being thrown right into the mix last season was both challenging and beneficial, despite struggling at times as a rookie.
“Josh’s (McDaniels) playbook is one of the — woo, it was tough last year,” Wilson said. “It took the whole year to figure out that playbook, but getting thrown into the fire in Year 1 and having to just go, go, go definitely makes you grow, matures you.”
The Patriots’ offensive line looks to be improved in 2026. Wilson, moved to his natural position at center, and left tackle Will Campbell are both healthy and have a year in the team’s strength and conditioning program.
The Patriots added left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker during free agency, while right guard Mike Owenu and right tackle Morgan Moses return. The team drafted tackles Caleb Lomu (1st round) and Dametrious Crownover (6th round) in last month’s 2026 NFL Draft. That improves the overall depth significantly.
Lomu is expected to be the heir apparent to Moses at right tackle, but will probably serve as a swing tackle this season, as he acclimates to the NFL.
Eli Raridon: He is going to be a fascinating player to watch this summer. While he only had one year’s worth of experience as a starter and was the ninth TE taken overall, the Patriots had him rated much higher.
And after watching the coaches and scouts rave about him in the latest “Forged in Foxborough” episode, they have a lot of optimism surrounding him. It may not be in 2026, as he’ll probably play behind Hunter Henry and Julian Hill as the #3 tight end, but we should all keep a sharp eye peeled for him in training camp.
Quintayvious Hutchins: The Patriots’ seventh-round (247th overall) rookie edge player was arraigned on Wednesday in Newton court on an assault and battery charge against a family/household member.
He pleaded not guilty and was released on personal recognizance.
According to Boston College police, they were called to a dorm at the school after a dorm monitor reported seeing a man choke and push a woman in the hallway during a disturbance. Police officers questioned the woman, who told them nothing had happened.
“We are aware of the report involving Quintayvious Hutchins. We take these matters very seriously and are in the process of gathering additional information,” the Patriots said in a statement.
Patriots No Huddle Podcast: Derek, Mike, and I recorded an episode this Friday on the 2026 schedule. We’ll be back this afternoon on the PatsFans.com website. And we’ll be looking at the team’s Wide Receiver depth as of today. You can always check out our other podcasts on our YouTube channel.
Please check it out. And be sure to like, share, and leave us a review.
Russ Francis/Chuck Fairbanks: The former Patriot tight end and head coach should be in the Patriots team Hall of Fame, and the fact that Francis isn’t is an absolute travesty. Francis and the Raiders’ Dave Casper changed how teams used the tight end position.
We will continue to display this in our Sunday posts until it happens. Casper is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Francis’ numbers stand up well against Casper’s, yet he isn’t even in the team’s HOF.
The Patriots’ 2026 schedule was released on Thursday evening (with plenty of leaks beforehand), and the first impression was that the first month of the season will be a daunting one.
And the team will play in five prime-time games this season, four of which are on the road, with a sixth possible if Week 17 with Denver, coming to Foxborough, is flexed to a later slot depending on each team’s situation, with playoff implications possibly on the line.
The first four games are all against 2025 playoff teams, with three of them on the road. In fact, seven of the Patriots’ first 11 games are on the road. The season starts on Wednesday (?) September 9, in a Super Bowl rematch against the Seahawks in Seattle.
Why a Wednesday game to start the season? It makes as little sense as the “Thanksgiving Eve” game.
Mike Reiss’ bold prediction: Reiss predicts that, “Unlike Super Bowl LX, when the Patriots were handled with relative ease, the opener against the Seahawks will come down to the end of the fourth quarter with New England pulling off the upset … and the winning touchdown scored by a wide receiver not currently on the roster.” (now, who could that WR be?)
After a home tilt with the Steelers, the team goes on the road to Jacksonville and Buffalo. That is a daunting start to the season, with the Week 4 game against Buffalo a very big game. The teams split last season’s series, with each team winning on the road.
The next four games begin with back-to-back home games against the Raiders and Jets, followed by a Thursday night game on the road against the Bears, then another road game against Miami.
That Chicago game should be where we begin to get a feel of who and what the 2026 team will be.
Week 9 features a home game against the Packers, followed by a road trip to Germany to face the Lions, with a 9:30 a.m. start. While the Patriots haven’t fared well in Europe lately, this game’s location is a bit of a break for the Patriots.
Technically, a road game, the Lions in Detroit is a tough matchup, and the Patriots have a very good following in Germany. Week 11 is a bye week, which is a good time for it. Then, another long road trip in Week 12 to the West Coast to face the LA Chargers on Sunday Night Football.
The Chargers game should be an intriguing one. The Patriots dominated the Bolts’ offense in the playoffs last season, holding them to three points. However, they should have both of their tackles back this year, and getting Mike McDaniel as the Offensive Coordinator will bear watching.
He wasn’t a great head coach, but he’s a very good OC, so we’ll see where the Chargers (and the Patriots) are at that point. Week 13 is a home game against the Bills, followed by a short week Thursday Night Football tilt against the Vikings.
Then the team has a mini-bye (11 days) before they go to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs on Monday Night Football. Patrick Mahomes should be fully back in form by then, but the Chiefs are a question mark heading into 2026. Offensively, they weren’t good last year, before Mahomes’ injury, so all eyes will be on them.
The season ends with back-to-back games against Denver and Miami at home. The Patriots have to do a lot of flying this season, with two games on the West Coast and one in Germany. They’ll travel 27,590 miles in 2026, the fifth-most in the NFL this year.
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“Somebody asked me what success looks like, and I said, ‘Yeah, you can judge it by wins and losses during the season, but success for me in the offseason is going to be that the players believe in what we’re doing, and they believe in the message, they believe in the teaching, and they believe in the connections that we’re making.’” — Mike Vrabel
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Listen to our PatsFans.com Patriots No Huddle podcasts on Apple and YouTube as Derek Havens, Mike D’Abate, and I discuss the latest Patriots news and game analysis.
The Patriots' 2026 preseason games are Week 1 vs. Colts (Aug 13), Week 2 vs. Eagles (Aug 22), and Week 3 at Browns (Aug 27). Joint practices are possible with the Colts and Eagles at Gillette Stadium.
Jared Wilson is switching back to his natural position at center for the Patriots in 2026 after playing left guard as a rookie. He expressed excitement about the move.
Quintayvious Hutchins was arraigned on an assault and battery charge against a family/household member. He pleaded not guilty and was released on personal recognizance. The Patriots are gathering additional information.
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May 2 - May 17 (Through 26yrs)
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