Patriots News 08-16, Post PS Game #1 53-Man Roster Projection

Good morning, and a happy Sunday to all. Here is your Patriots news and notes for 08-16 after the first preseason game against the Colts is in the books.

Congratulations to the Seahawks’ Devon Witherspoon, who became the highest-paid corner in NFL history with a 4-year extension worth $132 million, or $33 million a year. Now the Patriots need to top that with Christian Gonzalez.

While it was great to get some Patriots’ football to watch, the first preseason game, which was pretty much devoid of starters, wasn’t the most exciting of events. But the team needs these games to adequately get a look at the younger players and backups.

And as always, it should be noted that what we all watched was the most vanilla of schemes on both sides of the ball. Neither team does any game planning; it is more about evaluating a player’s individual performance.

Final Observations For The First Preseason Game

After rewatching the game on Friday, here are a handful of observations on the sloppy, undisciplined tie with the Colts.

One area that stood out on Thursday (besides the kicking game) was the interior offensive line play, which was shaky, and then, to add insult to injury, both Ben Brown and Andrew Rupcich were banged up in the game.

Tanner Arkin, a favorite here to win the third tight end slot, had an uneven night. Which is typical for a rookie.

It seemed like Jam Miller has a leg up on Lan Larison for the third RB slot. Miller had 55 yards rushing to just one for Larison, but Larison did have a team-high six catches in the passing game.

And the backups at the interior defensive line were pushed around in the first half, where the Colts ran the ball very effectively. This is an area to watch in the upcoming joint practices.

They got better in the second half, and the interior DL was bringing good pressure on the QB, which directly led to an interception by John Saunders.

Bradyn Swinson continues his Year 2 maturation and was active on the edge, with a batted pass, a QB hit, and several pressures, while going up against Indy’s top swing tackle, Blake Freeland. It was a solid building block night for him.

Khalil Jacobs continues to stack good days (nights) together. He had a couple of stuffed runs, as did K.J. Britt. Chad Muma, however, struggled.

Overall, the coverage of the Colts’ tight ends was an issue. The safety’s and linebackers’ coverage on the Colts’ Will Mallory, who had six catches for 80 yards, with potentially much more left on the field due to QB play, was not good. This is an area that needs to improve.

James Hudson, who has been particularly on the radar here as a versatile tackle/guard backup, struggled in the game. Caleb Lomu had a mixed bag of a night, while Demetrious Crownover had a very solid night as a bright spot on the offensive line. He and starting left tackle Marcus Bryant had very solid nights.

WR Kyle Williams had a pretty eventful night. He scored the Patriots’ only touchdown, running a very nice route where he immediately got separation, a nice 25-yard hitch, and then drew a pass interference penalty. But he also didn’t make an attempt to come back on a short throw by Tommy DeVito that would have probably drawn another DPI. Mike Vrabel seemed particularly irked at that on the sideline.

Speaking of DeVito, he had some ups and downs of his own. He had completions of 48 yards to Cameron Dorner and 24 yards to Eli Raridon, called back because of penalties. But he also had some uncharacteristic misses. It seemed like Raridon was wide open on every bootleg rollout they ran. That will bear watching down the road.

The penalties by the offense were particularly irking to Vrabel as they wiped out big gains and scoring opportunities.

Andrew Borregales, who has had a very good summer, missed three field goals from 49, 56, and 57 yards. Whether it was strictly on him, or it was the timing with new long-snapper Niko Lalos (Ashby is hurt), is unknown.

After a gift penalty on a late hit call against Indy, Borregales could have won the game with a field goal, but it wasn’t to be.

But Vrabel made it clear that those have to be made. All three misses were wide left, one of them terribly so.

Quick Hitters For the Patriots and NFL News

Bryce Barringer: The Patriots’ punter was arguably the best player on the field on Thursday night. He averaged 51 yards per punt against the Colts but it was his hang time that was most impressive.

He had a couple of punts with over five seconds of hang time. That is impressive. He also had a nice hold of a low snap on a field goal that was made (one of only 2-5). He and long-snapper Niko Lalos haven’t had a lot of practice time together.

Barringer said the goal this season was better consistency, and that was a good building-block type of night.

Gabe Jacas: The Patriots rookie second-rounder started on the edge and had four tackles, two on defense and two on special teams.

Vrabel said he challenged the rookie after a kickoff, where he didn’t think he gave it enough effort, and he responded with a tackle on the next one. His physical, aggressive style netted a few positives and a few he’d like to have back.

Colts QB Anthony Richardson read Jacas’ aggressive move crashing down on him and neatly shot past him for a 22-yard scramble. But Jacas’ pressure did have an effect on Richardson’s interception by Kindle Vildor.

He hasn’t had much practice or time in the meeting room, so he is playing catch-up. But he needs to set the edge better in the coming weeks.

Patriots No Huddle Podcast: Derek and I were back on Thursday night to talk about the Patriots’ first preseason game on the PatsFans.com website. We hope to get Mike D’Abate back on the show ASAP.

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 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.

Patriots 53-Man Roster Projection (Post-PS Game 1 Edition)

The Patriots have two more joint practices with the Eagles and two preseason games against Philly and Cleveland before they have to make their initial 53-man roster and head off to Seattle to begin the year.

I do think some trades or waiver-wire additions are still very much in play over the next two weeks.

So, let’s take a look at the roster and where they stand before camp begins.

Quarterbacks (2):

Drake Maye, Tommy DeVito

Out: Behren Morton (PS)

The Patriots will have three quarterbacks on the roster. I initially had Morton on the practice squad, and although they have given him quite a few snaps this summer, he’ll stay here for now. It is more of a numbers crunch than anything.

Running backs (4):

Rhamondre Stevenson, TreVeyon Henderson, Reggie Gilliam (FB), Jam Miller

Out: Lan Larison, Ja’Mychal Hasty, Hassan Haskins, Jack Westover (FB)

The first three names are locked in stone. However, there is an open competition here for the Patriots’ No. 3 job behind Stevenson and Henderson. And with Myles Montgomery and Terrell Jennings both being placed on IR this week, it has opened the door elsewhere.

Miller has the straight-line speed and the short-yardage acumen to be a serviceable change-of-pace back. He ran well against the Colts. Larison didn’t have a great game running the ball, but did well out of the backfield in the preseason opener.

Wide receivers (7):

A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs, Kayshon Boutte, Kyle Williams, Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, Efton Chisum III

Out: Kyle Dixon, Jeremiah Webb, Nick DeGennaro, Cameron Dorner, Jimmy Kibble, Tejhaun Palmer, Kobe Prentice

Will they keep seven WRs (no Boutte trade) on the roster and find a way to spread the ball around? Brown and Doubs are rapidly gaining chemistry and timing with Drake Maye.

There is no sense trading Boutte for a sixth-round draft pick, or even a fifth, when he’s been so efficient in the passing game and continues to be. Douglas has had a very good spring/summer, and hopefully that continues into September.

In a different year, we’d be talking about Dorner making a move for the 53-man roster. But with so many established players, he will be playing for a spot on the practice squad in 2026.

Tight Ends (3):

Hunter Henry, Eli Raridon, Tanner Arkin

Out: CJ Dippre

The Patriots extended Henry for another two years this week. Raridon has been making strides every day in practice with his ability to produce in the passing game.

Arkin is an intriguing player with the size (6’4, 265) and physicality of an inline blocker, thriving in the trenches. The concern here is that the team is relying on two rookies behind Henry, and the tight end position is notoriously tough for rookies to learn.

Offensive Line (9):

Will Campbell, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jared Wilson, Mike Onwenu, Morgan Moses, Caleb Lomu, Ben Brown, James Hudson, Dametrious Crownover,

Out: Marcus Bryant, Mehki Butler, Lorenz Metz, Sebastian Gutierrez, Jacob Rizy, JonDarius Morgan

The starting five of Campbell, Vera-Tucker, Wilson, Onwenu, and Moses is set and should be much improved this year. Lomu and Ben Brown are the top backups. Brown and Rupcich were both hurt in the PS opener. Rupcich was placed on season-ending IR, so Brown’s status will bear watching this week. The team signed two interior OL men Saturday, Darrian Dalcourt and Joe Michalski.

I made the case for James Hudson, as he can switch between tackle and guard, although he had a rough outing on Thursday.

Front Seven: Defensive Line (5), Edge (5):

Defensive Line – Milton Williams, Christian Barmore, Cory Durden, Joshua Farmer, Leonard Taylor III

Edge – Harold Landry, Dre’Mont Jones, Elijah Ponder, Gabe Jacas, Bradyn Swinson

Out: Casey Rogers, Quintayvious Hutchins, Jeremiah Pharms Jr., Isaiah Iton, Jesse Luketa, Eric Gregory, Xavier Holmes, Travis Shaw

The defensive line is deep, and you could make an argument for a sixth tackle with Eric Gregory. The only question for the DL is its run defense, an area that was exposed in the Super Bowl. That is an area where Gregory has the advantage over Taylor.

But the edge that is most concerning with the front seven right now, given health concerns. Harold Landry had offseason knee surgery and hasn’t practiced at all this spring/summer.

Jones will man one side, and in a perfect world, Landry would be the other, with the rookie Jacas competing with Ponder and Swinson for top backup reps.

Jacas is operating behind everyone else as he missed all of the spring and is just getting up to speed. But if Landry isn’t ready, the edge depth is really lacking.

Linebacker (5):

Robert Spillane, Christian Elliss, K.J. Britt, Chad Muma, Khalil Jacobs

Out: Otis Reese, Amari Gainer, Namdi Obiazor, Riley Wilson

The depth here has been a problem area after Spillane and Ellis. I opted to keep five linebackers, although Britt is mainly a special teamer, he flashed on a couple of plays Thursday night.

This will be a position to watch over the next two weeks of the preseason and when the waiver wire opens, as both Spillane and Elliss missed time due to injuries last season. Jacobs has come on this summer. It will be interesting to see if he can keep progressing

Cornerbacks (6):

Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis III, Marcus Jones, Channing Canada, Charles Woods, Karon Prunty

Out: Kobee Minor, Marcellas Dial Jr., Brandon Crossley, Kindle Vildor, Kenneth Harris

The Patriots, in this projection, opt for Canada over Vildor, but for now, I think the veteran who had a pick in Thursday night’s game isn’t far behind. Woods’ health will bear watching.

Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, and Marcus Jones give the Patriots an outstanding starting group. But Davis is hurt, and reportedly so is Gonzalez, which is why having a veteran like Vildor may still yet prove to be a smart move.

Safeties (4):

Kevin Byard, Craig Woodson, Dell Pettus, Brenden Schooler

Out: John Saunders Jr., Mike Brown, Eric Butler, Peter Manuma

The Patriots signed Kevin Byard in free agency, and he and Woodson give them an excellent 1-2 combination. Schooler is primarily a Special Teams specialist. Pettus gets the nod here over Saunders and Brown.

Four safeties, given that Schooler is a special teamer, seem a bit thin here.

Special Teams (3):

Andy Borregales, Bryce Baringer, Julian Ashby

Out: Nicko Lalos, who was waived on Saturday.

The Patriots’ three specialists remain locked, but Ashby is hurt, and that will be an area to keep an eye on.

If anyone would like to take a swing at predicting the initial 53-man roster, Ian Logue has put together a nice tool called Pats Picker on the Patsfans.com website.

Feel free to send them in, and we’ll share some of them in the near future.

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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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About Steve Balestrieri

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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