The team has completed training camp and preseason, cut its roster to 53 players, and formed a practice squad. The New England Patriots are going all out to make it to the NFL regular season of 2024.
Naturally, that will be the main focus of our attention this coming week, along with our impending Week 1 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. For the time being, though, let’s take another look back at One Patriot Place’s hectic week and the state of football in general.
Greetings and welcome to our Sunday Patriots Notes for this week.
The rookie class of the Patriots wants to “shock the world”: Nine rookies were included on the Patriots’ first 53-man roster as part of their aim to develop a young core. In addition to undrafted free agency safety Dell Pettus, all eight of their draft selections were selected.
It goes without saying that the group has a lot of ambition.
Quarterback Joe Milton, selected in the sixth round, told reporters in the locker room during cutdowns, “We all had a goal in mind when we got here, and we all said that we would try to be the best rookie class the Patriots ever had.” “We simply strive to put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward every day.”
Jaheim Bell, a tight end selected in the seventh round, expressed a similar perspective.
“Our goal is to be the best rookie class ever drafted by them. We’re attempting to do that, Bell continued. “I think the offensive players who are on the active roster add a lot of explosiveness to the offense.” And it seems like the only thing we can do is let it go.
“We worked so hard to get here, and we’re still working hard. We’re going to keep working as hard as we can to support the closure of this location.
It remains to be seen if the Patriots’ rookie class of 2024 will be the greatest in team history. Even while the early results from training camp and the preseason have been positive, it still faces some fierce competition.
Irrespective of historical analogies, the group is highly motivated to establish itself as a valuable member of a rebuilding squad. Or, to put it as sixth-round cornerback Marcellas Dial Jr., the lone defensive draft selection, phrased it when questioned about the present state of mind among the Patriots rookie class:
“I’d say that we’re eager and prepared to shock the world.”
When will Drake Maye become the primary quarterback? Drake Maye, a first-round choice in the draft, will spend his rookie season on the bench as the Patriots have officially selected Jacoby Brissett to start as quarterback for the 2024 campaign. It remains to be seen how long he stays, but it seems certain that he will take over sometime, if not in 2025.
But might he take Brissett’s spot as early as this season? Head coach Jerod Mayo said that hasn’t been given any thought yet.
He stated, “I don’t want to get into hypotheticals,” at Friday’s quick press conference. “We cannot predict at the beginning of the season that he will take X number of weeks. Look, Jacoby will be our quarterback this season as long as he performs as we all know he can.
The Patriots have consistently expressed their intention to follow Maye’s developmental strategy. This suggests that they won’t hurry anything, even if Brissett and the offense should have a difficult opening to the year.
Consequently, three scenarios appear most likely from this angle:
1. Regardless of the outcome, Brissett starts for almost the whole of 2024.
2. Until New England is eliminated from the playoff race, Brissett stays the starting quarterback.
3. If New England is not contending for the postseason by the time of the Week 14 bye, Brissett stays the starting quarterback.
It is possible for the Patriots to choose a different schedule, such as adjusting the 10-day vacation following Week 3, but it would still appear a little hurried. Maye may not start the season, at least not in the starting lineup, if the franchise is truly as patient as it says it is with his development.
Jerod Mayo is still developing in his role: Between Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo, the Patriots’ communication has completely changed. The latter has been very transparent during the past few months, in contrast to the former who preferred to keep his cards close to the vest and disclose little information (apart from occasionally outlining the rules of the game and its background).
It is debatable if that is a good or bad thing. But Mayo seemed a little too ready to provide information, especially after making the now-famous “burning cash” remark about the Patriots’ summer spending and the quarterback duels between rookie Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett.
However, that shouldn’t be shocking in the slightest. In addition to talking about a culture of more open communication from Day 1, he is still relatively new to the position and appears to be attempting to strike the correct balance between providing information and delivering soundbites that shouldn’t be taken too literally.
Predicting the captains of the Patriots’ 2024 squad: The Patriots will begin the regular season this week after deciding on their 53-man roster, at least for the foreseeable future. Selecting the team captains for this season is a part of this.
Who will be granted the honor? Here’s our best guess, but that will have to wait and see.
QB Jacoby Brissett: The starting quarterback for the Patriots, who was acquired in the offseason, has garnered plaudits for his leadership qualities. That he would be named captain would not be shocking.
TE Hunter Henry: Henry was named a captain for the first time last season, and he should stay that way. He is a team player, even in this new government.
C David Andrews: For the past seven seasons, Andrews has been selected as a captain. On and off the field, the starting center continues to be one of the Patriots’ most vital players.
DE Deatrich Wise Jr.: Wise Jr.’s character off the field and his on-field accomplishments make him one of the team’s most dependable players. He ought to be selected captain for a third consecutive year as a result.
LB Ja’Whaun Bentley: Over the past few years, Bentley has been one of the key players on the Patriots defense. Soon, he will be named captain for the fourth time overall and for the third year in a row.
S Jabrill Peppers: This year’s secondary captain appears to be either Peppers, Kyle Dugger, or Jonathan Jones. Hard-hitting safety, seasoned leader, and skilled trash talker Peppers gets our choice.
Running back Rhamondre Stevenson, wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, linebackers Jahlani Tavai and Raekwon McMillan, and special team member Brenden Schooler are among the other contenders to be chosen as captains. In the upcoming days, the complete list is anticipated to be revealed.
This autumn, the Patriots captains are anticipated to don patches on their jerseys, in contrast to previous years.
Going over the key queries that remain unsolved following NFL cuts: We noted that a few key concerns remained unanswered after the Patriots reduced their roster from 89 to 53 players earlier this week. We can go back and review those once a few days have elapsed since Tuesday’s cutoff deadline to determine if there have been any changes.
At quarterback, who will get the start? After cutdowns, the Patriots did not respond to the quarterback question, but it only took them three days to declare something. To start the season, they selected Jacoby Brissett as their quarterback on Friday.
How does the offensive line get to look? The regular season opening is one week away, so the answer is unclear. The club may start Sidy Sow, David Andrews, Layden Robinson, Michael Onwenu, Vederian Lowe, or Chukwuma Okorafor at left tackle, according to the information that is currently available. Complicating matters, however, are the injuries that both Lowe and Sow are now suffering with.
The wiggle room is where? The Patriots reduced their roster to the 53 players required by the NFL on Tuesday, preparing for some roster reorganization when the waiver claim deadline approached the next day. In fact, four players were substituted: cornerback Isaiah Bolden, offensive lineman Michael Jordan, defensive tackle Trysten Hill, and wide receiver Jalen Reagor. These players have since returned to the practice squad.
Who—and how long—will take Christian Barmore’s place? The situation at defensive tackle changed when Eric Johnson, a waiver claim, took Trysten Hill’s spot. Whatever the case, it seems like Jeremiah Pharms Jr. and Daniel Ekuale will be the primary replacements for Christian Barmore, the starting pitcher, while he’s on the PUP list. On passing downs, ends Keion White and Deatrich Wise Jr. will also be considered.
Who will become the main members of the special team? It was anticipated that Jalen Reagor and Isaiah Bolden would both be key members of the special teams in 2024, and it remains possible that they will, even if they are now on the practice squad. They would join Christian Elliss and Brenden Schooler, two additional anticipated major kicking game participants.
The departure of Bailey Zappe closes a turbulent period in the franchise’s history: Bailey Zappe, a former starter for the Patriots, was waived on Tuesday and has since joined the practice squad of the Kansas City Chiefs. For a player who significantly influenced the team’s success in 2022 and 2023, it was a fairly unceremonious finale.
Even in his greatest moments—which may have mostly occurred during his 2022 rookie season—the former fourth-round draft pick never seemed to be the franchise’s future. Still, he tried to make the best of a difficult circumstance.
After his departure, Jerod Mayo commended him, saying, “He has been the ultimate professional.” We had a great friendship before I accepted this role, and I will always support a guy like Zappe. Even though conditions weren’t probably ideal for him personally, he always had a positive outlook. That being said, we believe that all three of these quarterbacks have the potential to surpass what Zappe showed.
Good news for New England: Zappe is not the only former Patriot signed by Kansas City this week. JuJu Smith-Schuster is joining the Chiefs. After a disastrous 17-month tenure, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was dismissed in early August. He signed a one-year, $1.21 million contract and was immediately added to the team’s 53-man roster.
Fortunately for Smith-Schuster’s previous team, the Patriots will now be able to credit up to that amount toward their 2025 salary cap.
