{"id":74556,"date":"2026-08-27T10:08:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T14:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=74556"},"modified":"2026-08-27T10:20:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T14:20:00","slug":"morse-what-to-look-for-in-final-patriots-pre-season-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2026\/08\/27\/morse-what-to-look-for-in-final-patriots-pre-season-game\/","title":{"rendered":"MORSE: What to Look For in Final Patriots Pre-Season Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

The starters will not play, and it is important to see who does not play in this game.\u00a0 Those that don\u2019t play have made the team. \u00a0It\u2019s difficult for any player that plays in this game to make the 53-man roster.\u00a0 Some players like Behren Morton are likely to make the team.\u00a0 These players that do play are looking to put out good tape for those teams around the league to bring them in.\u00a0 Last year, Tommy DeVito had a great game versus the Patriots playing for the Giants.\u00a0 The Patriots claimed him off waivers, and he is now their #2 QB.<\/p>\n

Special Teams <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Players who excel on Special Teams are always in demand.\u00a0 If a player shows up on tape, he is likely to get claimed.\u00a0 P Matt Haack is in for Bryce Barringer.\u00a0 This injury has opened an opportunity for Haack.\u00a0 The severity of the injury remains to be seen, but it appears that Barringer will not be available for the opening game.\u00a0 \u00a0I am interested in seeing the field-goal kicking operation and whether there is any difference.\u00a0 In practice on Tuesday, Andy Borregales was 6-for-6 on his field-goal attempts, which shows the operation was pretty good.<\/p>\n

Practice Squad<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A lot of these players will be fighting for spots on the Practice Squad.\u00a0 Cameron Dorner, Nick DeGennaro, and Kyle Dixon are likely to make it to the Practice Squad if they clear waivers.\u00a0 Indianapolis was very impressed with the Patriots’ skill players and might be a team to watch to claim Dorner.\u00a0 \u00a0 Others like Eric Gregory, Leonard Taylor, Kobee Minor, and Marcellus Dial are likely to make it to the Practice Squad.\u00a0 Tight Ends CJ Dippre and Jack Westover won\u2019t get claimed.<\/p>\n

3rd<\/sup> Running Back Competition<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I think both Hassan Haskins and JaMychal Hasty could make it through to the Practice Squad.\u00a0 Haskins was available as a Free Agent all year and wasn\u2019t signed until the Indy game.\u00a0 As veterans, they become Free Agents immediately and don\u2019t have to pass through waivers. \u00a0Jam Miller and Lan Larison are two who could get claimed.\u00a0 Both Miller and Larison are recovering from injuries, and if they don\u2019t play, it is not an indication that they have made the team.\u00a0 If Haskins doesn\u2019t play, that would be an indication he has made the team.\u00a0 It will be interesting to see who is kept as the 3rd<\/sup> RB, especially given the ankle injury to TreVeyon Henderson.<\/p>\n

EDGE and LB <\/strong><\/h3>\n

I think this is an area of weakness on the team.\u00a0 The Patriots might try to trade for players that are likely to get cut from other teams.\u00a0 There are also Free Agents still available that might help the team, such as DT DaQuan Jones, ED Hassan Reddick, LB Shaq Thompson, and EDGE\/LB Kyle Van Noy, who are still out there.<\/p>\n

Offensive Line \u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The only players of real interest are Demetrious Crownover and Jacob Rizy.\u00a0 I think they keep Crownover on the 53-man roster, especially in light of the injury to Marcus Bryant. \u00a0\u00a0Given the dearth of the OT position in the league, Crownover would get claimed.\u00a0 What the Patriots do with Ben Brown will be interesting.\u00a0 I suspect he will be placed on IR\/DFR, meaning he can come back after 4 weeks.\u00a0 Rizy should clear waivers and be signed to the Practice Squad.\u00a0 He hasn\u2019t been great, but has shown enough as a UDFA to warrant a year of development on the PS.\u00a0 I just hope that the poor play of the 3rd<\/sup> team players doesn\u2019t get Behrens Morton killed in the game.<\/p>\n

Christian Gonzalez Contract Negotiations<\/strong><\/h3>\n

What Eliot Wolf had to say in Tuesday’s Press Conference<\/strong><\/a> was pretty telling.\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cYou know, it\u2019s about a cash budget and things like that. \u00a0So, we\u2019re very aware of the timing of these things. And we\u2019re cognizant of having a plan for that and working with Jonathan and Robert, thankful for their support that they\u2019re open and willing for us to be able to sign these great players.\u201d\u00a0 The key phrase was \u201cCash Budget\u201d. \u00a0\u00a0Robert Kraft has been criticized for his actual cash spending.\u00a0 This is not the Salary Cap but the actual cash out of pocket the team spends.\u00a0 Kraft will spend one year but put the clamps on the budget for the next two years.<\/p>\n

The three-year average is in compliance with the minimum spending of the NFLPA agreement.\u00a0 Kraft does not like the structure of the Devin Witherspoon contract, with $60M of new money in the two years of team control (last year of rookie contract and 5th-year option the Patriots have exercised).\u00a0 If he gives Gonzalez new money, it is basically a new contract and not an extension.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t want to do this with Drake Maye\u2019s extension coming up next year.\u00a0 Kraft has a budget that is lower than the Salary Cap, and he doesn\u2019t want to pay!\u00a0 The \u201cPacker Way,\u201d which Eliot Wolfe aspires to, is a Draft and Development scenario.<\/p>\n

The third part of that is re-signing those key young players when they come to the end of their rookie deals.\u00a0 Under Bill Belichick, the players had to go to other organizations to get their money.\u00a0 The structure of the deal is what is holding up the signing.\u00a0 The amount of guaranteed money, signing bonus, and Average Annual Value are also sticking points.<\/p>\n

Player Safety Violations<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Starting this season, the NFL and NFLPA agree to implement a system similar to soccer, where three player-safety fouls throughout the season now lead to a 1-game suspension.<\/p>\n

The following penalties are the violations that will accumulate:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Hip Drop Tackle<\/li>\n
  • Horse Collar Tackle<\/li>\n
  • Launching<\/li>\n
  • Hit on a Defenseless Player<\/li>\n
  • Blindside Block<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    These violations will carry over year to year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Examining the Patriots’ final pre-season game, we cover roster battles, Christian Gonzalez’s contract negotiations, and the NFL’s new player safety rules.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":74562,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_pfeai_meta_description":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10],"tags":[24604,34,24855,24613,23269,24738,23466,23446,802,24832,141,24608,24877,24864,70,24876,24878,23966,33,24078,319,23382],"class_list":["post-74556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-news","tag-behren-morton","tag-bill-belichick","tag-bryce-barringer","tag-cameron-dorner","tag-christian-gonzalez","tag-demetrious-crownover","tag-drake-maye","tag-eliot-wolf","tag-free-agency","tag-hassan-haskins","tag-indianapolis-colts","tag-jacob-rizy","tag-jamychal-hasty","tag-matt-haack","tag-nfl","tag-patriots-pre-season","tag-player-safety-violations","tag-practice-squad","tag-robert-kraft","tag-salary-cap","tag-special-teams","tag-tommy-devito"],"yoast_head":"\nMORSE: 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