With two preseason games in the books, the New England Patriots are slowly but steadily turning their attention toward the upcoming roster cutdown deadline. By August 29, clubs must be under the 53-player limit.
For the New England Patriots, this means cutting almost 40 players from their current squad of 90. While there appear to be quite a few safe bets in either direction of the decision-making process, several players remain on the roster bubble heading into the final week of preseason football.
Among those are five players that have been identified as “dark-horse candidates” to make the cut by patriots.com’s Evan Lazar. Among them is sophomore defensive tackle Sam Roberts, who was flagged twice in the preseason contest in Green Bay but also flashed some intriguing talent; he very much appears to be alive in his pursuit to make either the roster or practice squad.
As for other stories that have come out of New England and the rest of the league, here are today’s Patriots links.
Team Talk
Evan Lazar: After Further Review: Breaking Down Patriots QB Mac Jones, Bill O’Brien’s Offense in Preseason Game vs. Packers | Link
Alexandra Francisco: Bill Belichick impressed with Taylor Swift’s toughness after Gillette Stadium rain show | Link
David Silverman and Eric J. Adler: Best Game Photos: Patriots at Packers | Link
Audio: Bill Belichick on WEEI (24:11) | Link
Video: Bill Belichick press conference (15:20) | Link
Local Links
Doug Kyed (Boston Herald): Patriots 53-man roster projection: How many rookie receivers make the cut? | Link
Alex Barth (98.5 The Sports Hub): Patriots roster projection 3.0: Bubble coming into focus | Link
Zack Cox (NESN): Patriots 53-Man Roster Projection: One Week Out From Cutdown Day | Link
Lauren Campbell (MassLive): Mac Jones praises Patriots rookie for bringing ‘a lot of juice’ to practice | Link
Chad Graff (The Athletic): Patriots stock report: Kendrick Bourne, J.J. Taylor on the rise after Packers game | Link
Andrew Callahan (Boston Herald): Patriots-Packers film review: Mac Jones makes subtle progress and 29 more takeaways | Link
Nicole Yang (Boston Globe): We got our first look at the Patriots’ No. 1 offensive unit Saturday. Here’s how it fared. | Link
Darren Hartwell (NBC Sports): Is Tyquan Thornton the odd man out among Patriots’ wide receivers? | Link
Zack Cox (NESN): Mac Jones Explains How Ezekiel Elliott Already Helping Patriots | Link
Karen Guregian (MassLive): Patriots QB Mac Jones keeps piling on the love for Bill O’Brien | Link
Doug Kyed (Boston Herald): Mac Jones details ideal role as QB in Patriots’ offense | Link
Dakota Randall (NESN): Mac Jones Hoping To Revive ‘Alabama Mac’ In Year 3 With Patriots | Link
Matt Dolloff (98.5 The Sports Hub): Checking in on all the New England Patriots’ running backs after 2 preseason games | Link
Sara Marshall (Musket Fire): Bill Belichick brushes off praise from Patriots players regarding important decision | Link
Chad Finn (Boston Globe): Patriots certainly seem to be trending in the right direction on offense — with one huge ‘if’ | Link
Zack Cox (NESN): Mac Jones Reveals ‘Coolest Part’ About Working With Bill O’Brien | Link
Nick O’Malley (MassLive): One night is ‘really not enough’ to honor Tom Brady, Bill Belichick says | Link
Adam London (NESN): How Mac Jones Explained Tense Practice Scene With Bill Belichick | Link
Michael Braithwaite (Patriots Wire): 3 big takeaways from Patriots’ 21-17 win at Green Bay | Link
Doug Kyed (Boston Herald): Bill Belichick not aware of any Patriots pursuit of Aaron Rodgers | Link
Gary Washburn (Boston Globe): NFL at last learning hard lessons about compassion, mental health, and manhood | Link
National News
Justis Mosqueda (Acme Packing Co): Packers’ Karl Brooks shined versus the Patriots | Link
Chad Reuter (NFL.com): 2023 NFL Preseason Week 2 rookie grades: Mixed bag for C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young | Link
Doug Farrar (Touchdown Wire): 2023 NFL Preseason: The Secret Superstars of Week 2 | Link
Mike Jones (The Athletic): Should the NFL eliminate preseason games? Despite injuries, it’s not realistic | Link
Gregg Rosenthal (NFL.com): 2023 NFL Preseason Debrief, Week 2: Top rookies? Who’s winning position battles? MVP of August?! | Link
Michael David Smith (Pro Football Talk): Brian Daboll downplays talk that “close friend” Rob Gronkowski could un-retire for Giants | Link
Bill Barnwell (ESPN): Predicting four NFL teams likely to improve in 2023 season | Link
Nora Princiotti (The Ringer): Can the NFL’s Chillest Quarterback Thrive in Sin City? | Link
ESPN: NFL preseason Power Rankings 2023: How all 32 teams stack up | Link
Michael Rothstein (ESPN): Free agent linebacker Brandon Copeland, 32, retires from NFL | Link
Mike Florio (Pro Football Talk): If there’s no collusion in the running back market, here’s a chance for the NFL to prove it | Link
Doug Farrar (Touchdown Wire): The NFL’s 11 best quarterbacks | Link
James Dator (SB Nation): Bank robbing Chiefs superfan ‘ChiefsAholic’ has a lawyer out of a sitcom | Link
Katie Baker (The Ringer): The Netflix-ification of Football Is Only Beginning | Link
Riley McAtee (The Ringer): With the Colts and Jonathan Taylor at an Impasse, Has the NFL’s Running-Backs-Don’t-Matter Paradigm Shifted Too Far? | Link
Frank Schwab (Yahoo): Jonathan Taylor can seek a trade from Colts, but which teams should pursue him? | Link
Jon Machota (The Athletic): NFL stadium rankings: All 30 NFL venues from best to worst | Link
Charles McDonald and Anthony Sulla-Heffinger (Yahoo): Madden NFL 24 predicts 2023 season, including Cowboys winning Super Bowl, Jets tumbling and Justin Fields dismay | Link
Mike Clay (ESPN): Fantasy football: The 192 players who should be rostered | Link
Pats Pulpit roundup
Pat Lane: Kendrick Bourne delivers, and more takeaways from the Patriots’ preseason game against the Packers | Link
Bernd Buchmasser: Patriots continue their offensive line shuffle in abbreviated preseason game against Packers | Link
Matt St. John: Patriots 53-man roster projection: How many wide receivers will make the team? | Link
Bernd Buchmasser: Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden ‘in good spirits’ after injury against Packers | Link
Bernd Buchmasser and Taylor Kyles: J.J. Taylor not going down without a fight in Patriots’ running back competition | Link
Bernd Buchmasser: Colts reportedly give star running back Jonathan Taylor permission to seek trade | Link
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