Yesterday the Patriots were given the day off following a week of practices back in pads. This morning, the team will be back on the training field as we enter the three-week countdown to kickoff against Miami.
Plenty of news to cover from the past week, so let’s get our Sunday check-in from training camp.
Camp News
Over the past week, there have been some great moments for fans to take notice of ahead of the new season. Most notably, S Kyle Dugger has stood out as one of the top players on the practice field, made some big plays, and has been involved in special team drills. Still early in his development jump from Div II Lenoir–Rhyne, but an exciting beginning for the rookie.
Second-year WR Gunner Olszewski has been impressing also. After snagging a roster spot last year to only end up on IR, Gunner is showing off what he can bring to the team this season. As well as continuing his return duties, reports have complimented his quickness and ability to “get open” during team sessions.
The QB position still has the same questions it did a week ago, although, a competitor has edged forward in the race for the starting job. Cam Newton took the majority of reps towards the end of the week alongside Brian Hoyer, this after Jarett Stidham was taken to hospital over concerns that he suffered a leg injury.
Fortunately, Stidham’s injury wasn’t as bad as first feared, but he was held out of most of the QB reps on Friday’s practice as a precaution. OC Josh McDaniel’s said he should be “ready to roll” come the next time they hit the practice field.
A more concerning story that broke yesterday was that K Justin Rohrwasser has been dealing with an injury, which per Jeff Howe, explains his lack of live kicks on the main field this week.
I thought that a K could be brought in as competition for the rookie, but now, it looks as if one is being brought in for the season, if Folk shows the sort of accuracy he had last year (16/19 FG (one blocked) 13/13 XP) the rookie may well be gone.
Injury/Absences
The absentee list grew as the week progressed, a slightly worrying sign for some:
*Consecutive missed practices in brackets
WR N’Keal Harry (3) – No update, S Adrian Phillips (2) – No update, DT Beau Allen (5) – No update, DE Tashawn Bower (4) – No update, OL Yodney Cajuste (2) – No update, CB Stephon Gilmore (2) – Personal matter, DE Derek Rivers (3) – No update, CB D’Angelo Ross (1) – No update
PUP/active list- RB Sony Michel, RB Lamar Miller
Limited in the last session of the week- S Kyle Dugger, QB Jarett Stidham, WR Jeff Thomas
Roster Transactions
Earlier in the week, the Patriots added OL Ben Braden, a former UDFA who’s spent time with the Jets and Packers. The team also signed FA TE Alex Ellis, before waiving him yesterday, after only spending five days on the roster.
Further moves were made yesterday, as the team cut DT Darius Kilgo, who only signed with the team on August 11.
New signings: TE Paul Quessenberry, DT Xavier Williams
Visit/Tryout – K Nick Folk
An interesting few additions, Braden will offer additional depth within the O-Line group as the second week of pads kicks off. Quessenberry hasn’t played competitive football since 2014, and now, after finishing his commitment to the U.S Navy, he wants to resume his NFL career, as covered in an article about his journey last year.
In my opinion, Williams is a good addition, he’s got some decent NFL experience at the position, and after Beau Allen’s was absent for the entirety of last week, he will get a chance to compete.
Salary Cap Check-In
Some cool news yesterday was that the team decided to reward DT Lawrence Guy with a pay raise. Guy has been a great player for the team, and this is a well-deserved event for the player we’ll be looking to for consistency at the DT position this year.
@patscap currently has the team’s cap space number at $31,486,135 following the Ellis, Kilgo, Quessenberry, and Guy roster moves.
Plenty of space still in the reserve, still unsure if they’ll make a splash for any remaining big name FA’s, but we shall see.
I’ll be posting Tweets of Note as usual follow practice later on today, also check out Jason’s article about Jarett Stidham from yesterday!
