MORSE: What to Look For in Patriots' Pre-Season Game vs Indianapolis Colts

The New England Patriots host the Indianapolis Colts in the preseason opener Thursday. Here are some things to watch on Thursday night.

Drake Maye and the starters will not play. This is a terrific opportunity for backup players trying to secure their spot on the roster. The starters got in some great work Tuesday against Indy. The Offense played very well, and the Defense has some work to do, especially against the run. They also are not pressuring the quarterbacks from the edge. On the bright side, Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, and Charles Woods didn’t play in the joint practice, and the backups held up pretty well.

Tommy “Two Chains” DeVito and Behren Morton Should Shine

Both backup QBs have had very good camps, and I expect them to light up the Colts. Devito will have Kyle Williams, Efton Chism and possibly Kayshon Boutte to throw to. Morton has emerging Cameron Dorner.

All Eyes on Caleb Lomu

With the starters sitting, Lomu will get a lot of work. Don’t be surprised if he plays both Left and Right Tackle. On the other side, Marcus Bryant has had a good camp. Watch his play against the Colts backups. We are still looking for OG help, and let’s see how they perform. I will be watching the run-blocking as well as the pass-blocking.

Jul 23, 2025; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots running back Lan Larison (34) works on a drill during training camp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images — **Patriots RB, Lan Larison (PHOTO: Eric Canha-Imagn Images)**

RB 3 Battle

Lan Larison or Terrell Jennings will battle for this spot. Kickoff returns may be what decides who will be kept. I don’t know how much running room there will be with the backup lineman.

Watch the Special Teams Units

This could be a tell of who is going to make the team. Who is the personal protector on the Punt unit? Who are the gunners on the punt team? Who makes the key blocks on a kickoff return?

Elijah Ponder made a key block that sprung Treveyon Henderson for a Kick-Off return TD last Pre-Season. Ponder made the 53-man roster

New Gillette field

A new artificial turf playing field is being installed at Gillette Stadium this week, and here are key points as to why it is happening now:

Once the World Cup concluded, the natural grass field required by FIFA was replaced with an artificial turf surface. The artificial turf surface installed was vetted by the Patriots and the New England Revolution and passed all NFL and MLS field tests, per chief operating officer Jim Nolan. However, the field was deemed noncompliant by the NFL.

According to Nolan, the noncompliance was based on the NFL and NFL Players Association independent laboratory testing protocols. When the new field was lab tested last March, it was paired with an “E-layer,” which is a rubber shock pad that sits underneath the field system, as the lab testing was conducted over concrete.

The artificial turf/E-layer combination, however, was not suitable for Gillette Stadium, where the artificial turf is laid over a stone-dust base, and not concrete. As the field system was not installed over an E-layer, it was deemed noncompliant despite passing all NFL field tests.

“We are confident the field would have passed if they had tested it in March without a pad, even over concrete,” Nolan said.

Nonetheless, a new artificial turf field must be installed for compliance. “The field we’re installing is the latest version of the field we took out in January,” Nolan said. “From a player perspective, it will be incredibly consistent with what they played on last year.”

Comings and Goings

The New England Patriots announced that they have signed RB Hassan Haskins. In addition, the Patriots waived-injured rookie RB Myles Montgomery, per Patriots.com.

Hassan, 26, originally entered the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick by the Tennessee Titans out of Michigan in the 2022 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-2, 228-pounder was released by Tennessee at the end of training camp in 2024 and acquired off waivers by the L.A. Chargers, where he spent the last two seasons. Overall, Haskins has played in 44 regular-season games with one start and has 76 rushing attempts for 229 yards and 2 touchdowns, 18 receptions for 199 yards and 1 touchdown, and 28 kickoff returns for 646 yards. Last season with the Chargers, Haskins played in 12 games and finished with 17 rushing attempts for 47 yards, 4 receptions for 13 yards, and 8 kickoff returns for 197 yards.

Montgomery, 23, was originally signed by New England as a rookie free agent out of UCF on May 8, 2026. He was waived with an injury designation, meaning that if he passes through waivers, he will revert to the IR for the season. The 5-foot-10, 205-pounder spent two seasons at UCF (2024-25) after three seasons at Cincinnati (2021-23). He played in 41 games during his college career and finished with 274 rushing attempts for 1,546 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Is Christian Gonzalez Getting Frustrated with Lack of Progress?

The star cornerback posted a cryptic post on Instagram, with lyrics from rapper Gunna’s song “Time Reveals, Be Careful What You Wish For”. He sat out the Joint Practice for an unspecified reason.

Greg Bedard posted that it was probably due to a tweaked ankle he received at the end of Monday’s practice.

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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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