Perhaps Mike Vrabel knows better.
Maybe he’s got a true feel for the talent in the home locker room at Gillette Stadium, and is satisfied. How else can you explain the first-year New England Patriots coach’s decision to sit his regulars in the preseason finale at the Giants?
Thursday night’s dismantling of the bottom two thirds of the Patriots summer roster by the New Yorkers aside, it’s been a roller coaster of a first few months for Vrabel, who has been a little, shall we say, ornery lately.
The team made its first move down from 90 to the 53-man opening roster. Cuts that must be finalized by Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Vrabel is right. The next 10 days to two weeks will be “fluid.”
If the pummeling by the Giants proved anything, this team has a depth problem, one that is bound to happen when players like Sidy Sow (2023, Round 4), Jaheim Bell (2024, Round 7) and Ja’Lynn Polk (2024, Round 2) are early draft-and-dump types.
Polk, reports that made Vrabel extremely angry say, is done for the year after shoulder surgery.
The process is key here.
Vrabel’s guys, whether it’s him, Ron Wolf’s son Eliot, or any of the other personnel minions, will need to protect the most valuable assets, even the guys who are dinged up, to get to the first 53 … Then, moves to the injured list that aren’t season-ending can be made.
Here’s a quick look at how I see the 53-man roster playing out on Tuesday afternoon, before the flea-market, waiver wire, blue-light special shopping spree begins.
Offense
Quarterback (2): Drake Maye, Josh Dobbs – The team made this one easy when it announced the release of No. 3 man Ben Wooldridge. Did Wooldridge do enough to pick up a practice squad gig? We will see next week. But if you watched the Giants late Thursday night, you saw that Tommy “Cutlets” DeVito looked serviceable, and he currently sits behind Russell Wilson, Jaxon Dart and Jameis Winston. Should he come available, don’t be shocked if he’s a waiver scoop-up.
Running Back (3): Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson, Treveyon Henderson – It’s a rock-solid group that will likely see a fourth added this week from waivers and another one or two (JaMychal Hasty?) to the practice squad.
Tight Ends (2): Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper – Pray these two stay healthy and hope there are some veterans that shake free by Tuesday. This team ignored the position in the draft and free agency and now could pay the price dearly if either vet goes down.
Wide Receiver (7): Stefon Diggs, Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, Efton Chism, Kyle Willams, Kendrick Bourne – Yes, Kendrick Bourne. Both he and the rookie Williams might be candidates for injured reserve after the deadline.
Polk is out. The guess here is that they roll the dice and try to sneak another potential draft bust, Javon Baker (Round 4, 2024), onto the practice squad.
Diggs’ knee is just the most important injury issue in a room full of them. This is not great.
Offensive Line (7): Jared Wilson, Will Campbell, Mike Onwenu, Morgan Moses, Ben Brown, Vederian Lowe, Marcus Bryant – Nope, they won’t go to battle with seven. There will be at least two pickups on waivers, along with the usual practice squad allotment. Some notable names missing here: Garrett Bradbury, Demontrey Jacobs, Caedan Wallace and Cole Strange among them. There just has to be better talent available out there. New England is going to try and find it on the offensive line.
Defense
Line and Edge (12): Christian Barmore, Milton Williams, Keion White, Khyiris Tonga, Harold Landry, Josh Farmer, Jeremiah Pharms, K’Lavon Chaisson, Bradyn Swinson, Elijah Ponder, Truman Jones, Anfernee Jennings – Sorry, I know everyone, probably including Vrabel, wants Jennings out of town. But he’s one of the top seven guys in this positional group. White continues to disappoint, as shown in him playing 30 snaps against the Giants. Barmore and Williams are big-play guys. I’m not sure where the recent media mumblings about Barmore struggling lately have come from. He’s their best guy.
Off-ball linebacker (5): Robert Spillane, Jahlani Tavai, Christian Elliss, Jack Gibbens, Monty Rice – If you were looking for the likes of Taylor, Carson and Banks, you are in the wrong place. Tavai hasn’t practiced regularly. Elliss is a career special teamer. Gibbens and Rice are end-of-the-roster types. Spillane is excellent. He might need to be Superman.
Defensive backs (11): Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Marcus Jones, Alex Austin, DJ James, Dell Pettus, Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers, Marcus Epps, Jaylinn Hawkins, Craig Woodson – The depth just isn’t here, so if Vrabel was looking to cut Dugger as he severs ties with the Belichick/Mayo past, he’s going to be biting off his nose to spite his face.
Special Teams
Specialists (4): Kicker Andy Borregales, punter Bryce Baringer, long snapper Julian Ashby and cover man Brenden Schooler – Of these four, only Baringer and Schooler should think about signing a long lease. The other two might think about renting month to month (or week to week).