Good morning, and a happy Sunday to all. Here is your Patriots news for 08-09, along with this week’s NFL notes.
The Patriots held their annual Blue vs. White scrimmage on Friday with Tommy DeVito quarterbacking Team Blue and Drake Maye leading Team White. The star of the day, however, was Pop Douglas, who continues his excellent summer. Douglas scored a couple of touchdowns.
And after several days in full pads, the team is on a break over the weekend. They’ll resume on-field work on Monday, which will be closed to the public, and then the Colts come in for joint practices on Tuesday, followed by the teams’ first preseason game on Thursday night in Gillette Stadium.
Did anyone watch the Hall of Fame game on Thursday night? Usually, it is a snooze fest, but there were some really good offensive plays in the game, where Carson Beck of the Cardinals and Haynes King (5-yard rushing TD for the win as time expired) for the Panthers provided some intriguing QB play.
Quick Hitters For the Patriots and NFL News
Eric Butler: The Patriots signed Butler, a UDFA safety from San Diego State. Butler played in 48 games, including 23 starts, during his Aztecs career.
He totaled 119 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one interception returned for a touchdown, as well as two blocked punts.
While not a great athlete, Butler did show a lot of versatility, playing as a box safety, dime linebacker, free safety, and in the slot. He was also a core special teams player. With Brendan Schooler still on the NFI list, the team is beefing up its depth and ST units.
In a corresponding move, the team released UDFA DT David Blay from Miami. Blay had an uphill battle to make the roster, especially after the team signed Casey Rogers this week.
Tommy DeVito: The Patriots’ backup quarterback has continued his strong summer, and in the Blue vs. White scrimmage, he was “en fuego,” completing 12 of 16, including a pair of nice touchdown passes to Pop Douglas.
While the hope is that he doesn’t see the field much this season, if anything were to happen to Maye, then it certainly seems like, at this early juncture, that the offense would be in good hands for a short period.
DeVito hit Mack Hollins on a flea-flicker in the scrimmage; Josh McDaniels loves him some flea-flicker action.
Coincidentally, since DeVito and Maye were the QBs for the Blue and White teams, Behren Morton got a series with each team to get him some work as well.
Eli Raridon: The rookie TE has been steadily stacking good days together at training camp as he develops an increasing comfort level with Drake Maye. And the level of trust is improving, as evidenced during the team scrimmage on Friday, when during the two-minute drill, Maye went twice in a row to Raridon on a drive that finished with a field goal.
With the injury to veteran Julian Hill this spring, it has opened more opportunities for Raridon and rookie UDFA Tanner Arkin to showcase what they can do. For Raridon, that is more as a receiver than Arkin, who is known as a blocker first.
While Raridon is beginning to process things much quicker as camp rolls along, the team has been trying to push him without putting too much on his plate at such a complex position.
Evan Lazar of Patriots.com and Patriots Unfiltered posted a sobering reminder of how difficult the tight end position is for rookies to contribute right away. Of the 17 rookie tight ends drafted in Day 2 since 2022, only three (Sam LaPorta, Harold Fanin, and Mason Taylor) have had 40 catches in their first season.
The average production for Day 2 tight ends has been 25.8 catches, 272.5 receiving yards, and 2.1 TDs.
Of course, having Drake Maye at QB and Josh McDaniels as the offensive coordinator will help, as he has always used the tight ends well in his offenses.
The Patriots had two rookie tight ends in 2010, and one had 42 catches, 546 yards, and 10 touchdowns while the other had 45 catches, 563 yards, and six touchdowns…you remember who those players were…right?
Carlton Davis: Davis remains absent from camp practices after leaving a session last week with a hamstring issue. Mike Vrabel said to the media that the team doesn’t expect him back until the end of next week, meaning he’ll miss the joint practice session with the Colts and the preseason opener on Thursday.
Vrabel did say that Davis remains “engaged” off the field in meetings.
Harold Landry: The Patriots edge rusher remains on PUP after undergoing off-season knee surgery and has yet to see the field in any capacity. However, he’s been seen more and more at practice recently, which is a good sign.
Mike Vrabel has said that players who are out at practice are likely closer to returning, so perhaps we’ll see him on the field before long. Having him ready for Week 1 would be a huge boost for the defense.
CeeDee Lamb: ICYMI, Lamb was wearing a bag over his head at Cowboys’ training camp catching passes on the side. And Lamb was talking about needing to do this because the light that shines through the Cowboys’ stadium is blinding and he can’t see the ball.
“I gotta practice catching without seeing the ball. My owner refuses to fix the issue with the sunlight coming into the stadium, so I gotta adapt,” Lamb said.
I don’t imagine Jerry Jones found it as amusing as many of us do, however.
Patriots No Huddle Podcast: Derek, Mike and I recorded a training camp episode earlier this week on the PatsFans.com website. We discussed training camp with our close friend from across the pond, Clare Cooper.
We are planning another podcast for today, and we’ll discuss the dog days of training camp up to the Colts coming to town.
Please check it out. And be sure to like, share, and leave us a review.
Russ Francis/Chuck Fairbanks: The former Patriots 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.
Vrabel Believes In Kyle Williams’ Future, Seven WRs At Cutdown?
There is still a long way to go before the Patriots have to be cut down to the 53-man roster limit; however, the workouts thus far have second-year WR Kyle Williams being pushed far down the depth chart.
Many of the analysts covering the team believe that Williams has dropped down to WR7 on the Patriots’ depth chart. And while trade rumors persist around Kayshon Boutte, he’s been arguably the Patriots’ best WR on the field during the first two weeks of training camp.
Williams had very modest numbers as a rookie, but also huge flashes of his potential. He caught only 10 passes, but three of those went for touchdowns, including a 72-yard score against Tampa Bay, a 33-yard score against the Giants, and a 37-yard touchdown that jumpstarted the comeback against the Ravens.
The biggest issue last season was that despite Maye showing great chemistry with his receivers, that wasn’t the case with Williams. The pair were definitely not on the same page, and he frequently appeared to be out of position.
The Patriots asked him to get physically stronger and to improve his route running this offseason, and he has done that, although that hasn’t manifested to an increase in on-field opportunities yet.
But all is not lost yet; despite his slow development in camp, he’s still got the head coach behind him. Mike Vrabel is confident that Williams will help the team in 2026. He also said that the team may look to scheme things up to take advantage of his speed this year.
“He’ll continue to get his opportunities. I really, really know that Kyle is going to help us,” Vrabel said before Friday’s scrimmage. “His speed is going to help us. And I don’t want to use this and get this to be overblown, and I’m going to use the word ‘scheme’ or – he’s got a skill set, right?
“We’re going to find ways to get him the ball, and it may be outside of just the normal installation plays. But that’s my responsibility, that’s Josh’s responsibility, that’s Todd’s responsibility, to put him in those positions where we see the speed that showed up last year.”
“I know that he is going to be a large part of what we’re going to do, and those opportunities will continue to come,” Vrabel said. “His release skills, his speed, his vertical speed, those are all things that we have to continue to take advantage of as we progress.
“And it’s a great room. It’s a good, competitive room. And by competing and getting out there every single day, those will, by nature, increase his opportunities,” Vrabel added.
Currently, at least outwardly, the Patriots have A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs, Kayshon Boutte, Pop Douglas, Mack Hollins, and Efton Chism ahead of him in the pecking order. While most teams carry six WRs on the roster, the logjam, barring injuries or the aforementioned trade of Boutte, means it is possible that the team carries an extra WR on the roster to start the season.
Asked if the team would consider keeping seven WRs on the initial 53-man roster, Vrabel said they would definitely keep that option open.
“All we have to do is figure out the best way to keep guys that are going to help us win, that have roles on this team and that help us win,” Vrabel added. “That’s our job — that’s me, Eliot (Wolf), Ryan (Cowden) and Stretch (John Streicher), and everybody’s job is to try to find ways to keep the guys that give us the best chance to win, however that may be.”
Some have wondered if the team would cut Williams. While possible, it is doubtful that they’ll cut ties with him at this early juncture. Stranger things have happened, but given Boutte’s looming contract status next year, it would be a major surprise to see them move in that direction.
Williams should see plenty of action in the preseason game against the Colts this week since the starters probably won’t see the field. He’ll have the joint practice also to show out a bit. That will give him an opportunity to move up the depth chart. He’ll definitely be a player to watch on Thursday night.
A.J. Brown On Going Against Christian Gonzalez:
Among the best parts of training camp has been the one-on-one battles between Brown and Gonzalez, or as many have stated, the old “iron sharpens iron” example. Brown spoke to the media about going against Gonzalez on Friday.
“Every day is a battle with him, man, and it’s nothing but respect,” Brown said. “And ultimately, it’s not about him and me. We’re out here competing. All of us are challenging each other, and ultimately for the greater good of the team. So it’s nothing. We’re guys going back and forth. Guys are trying to play hard and compete. That’s all.”
“He’s definitely at the top of the list,” Brown said. “He’s been growing each and every year. As far as like top of the guys, man, I took my losses, and I earned my wins with Chris Harris Jr., Jalen Ramsey — prime Jalen Ramsey in Jacksonville. Just stacking those guys up there. Obviously, yes, I believe he’s up there.”
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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
Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at [email protected]
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.
🔍 Questions Answered in This Article
What is the Patriots' outlook on Kyle Williams' future?
Head coach Mike Vrabel expressed confidence in Kyle Williams, stating his speed will help the team in 2026 and that they plan to scheme ways to get him the ball this year despite his current depth chart position.
How did Tommy DeVito perform in the recent Patriots' scrimmage?
Tommy DeVito had a strong showing in the Blue vs. White scrimmage, completing 12 of 16 passes and throwing two touchdown passes to Pop Douglas, indicating a solid summer performance.
Are the Patriots considering carrying seven wide receivers on their initial 53-man roster?
Yes, head coach Mike Vrabel confirmed that the team is keeping the option open to carry seven wide receivers if it means retaining players who can contribute to winning and have specific roles.
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A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)
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