Jerod Mayo lays out plan for Patriots’ preseason finale before roster cutdown
FOXBORO — The Patriots’ months-long roster evaluation process culminates Sunday night in Landover, Md.
New England will close out its preseason schedule with a road game against the Washington Commanders. It’ll be the final opportunity for players to prove to Eliot Wolf, Jerod Mayo and the rest of the Patriots’ shot-callers that they deserve a spot on the initial 53-man roster, which must be finalized by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
“This game, we say it doesn’t count, but it matters,” Mayo said before Friday’s practice. “I think there are still a few positions where it’s a battle. We’ve been talking about competition all year, and that’s still my message right now.”
Most of the Patriots’ healthy players will see action Sunday night, per Mayo, including all four of their quarterbacks: Jacoby Brissett, Drake Maye, Joe Milton III and Bailey Zappe.
“Jacoby is going to start the game off,” the head coach said. “Drake will play, as well. Joe will play, as well. … Zappe will play, (as well).”
Brissett has been the Patriots’ QB1 throughout the spring and summer, but Maye has closed the gap between himself and his veteran position mate. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt on Thursday said the first-round rookie had a “really impressive” back half of training camp and is playing with confidence, though Brissett remains the favorite to start Week 1.
“If you guys remember early on, (Maye) would throw interceptions and he would get so down on himself,” Mayo said. “I would say now, as we exit camp, he’s done a lot better job being able to pull the nose up on the plane when it seems like it’s going down. I think that’s an important quality.”
After getting just one series of work in New England’s preseason opener, Maye acquitted himself well in last Thursday’s exhibition against Philadelphia and saw increased reps with the first-team offense this week.
Further down the depth chart, Zappe likely would need to convince the Patriots to roster four QBs in order to keep his spot. He’s behind the talented but raw Milton in the pecking order entering the preseason finale. It’s unclear how Mayo plans to divvy up snaps between the four signal-callers. Against the Eagles, Brissett played the first three series, then four for Maye, three for Milton and one for Zappe.
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Quarterback is the marquee roster battle in Foxboro, but it’s far from the only one. The Patriots have seemingly unsettled competitions at nearly every position.
What will the starting offensive line look like after a summer of shuffling and reshuffling up front? Will Kayshon Boutte or Jalen Reagor (or both) earn the final roster spot at wide receiver? Can Trysten Hill, who grabbed an interception in Thursday’s practice, make the cut as the final defensive tackle with Christian Barmore (blood clots) sidelined indefinitely? Has someone like depth linebacker Joe Giles-Harris shown enough to stick? Can a surprise edge rusher nab a spot with Matthew Judon gone and Joshua Uche and Oshane Ximines banged up? Which reserve cornerbacks will make it out of Alex Austin, Marco Wilson, Shaun Wade, Isaiah Bolden and Marcellas Dial? Who’s the kicker: Joey Slye or Chad Ryland?
“(I’m looking to) really just put my best foot forward, go out there, have fun and produce,” said running back JaMycal Hasty, who’s fighting for a spot behind roster locks Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson. “That’s pretty much it. Plain and simple.”
The Patriots also have several undrafted rookies who will be striving to make one last positive impression before cutdown day. One who could have a legitimate chance of cracking the roster is safety Dell Pettus, who created Hill’s interception by deflecting a Maye pass during a two-minute drill.
“He’s done a fantastic job,” Mayo said of the Troy product. “There’s been a lot of conversation around him, but he’s done a fantastic job up until this point.”
With the spotlight on those roster hopefuls Sunday night, some of New England’s more established players likely won’t see the field, as was the case in the first two preseason games.
On defense, it would not be surprising to see D-tackle Davon Godchaux, linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley, safeties Jabrill Peppers and Kyle Dugger, and cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez, Jonathan Jones and Marcus Jones all sit out. Friday’s practice suggested starting center David Andrews could get the night off, too.
“We do have some players dealing with small things that probably won’t play and get ready for the regular season,” Mayo said. “Some of our proven players.”
We’ll soon find out who will join those proven players on the 53-man roster.