In today’s NFL, joint practices have essentially replaced traditional preseason games.
That was obvious on Saturday night.
After two days of intensive joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles on Wednesday and Thursday, along with a quick turnaround before Thursday’s preseason finale in Cleveland against the Browns, essentially all of the Patriots’ top-line players got the night off.
Caleb Lomu (LT), Mehki Butler (LG), Jacon Rizy (C), James Hudson (RG), Marcus Bryant (RT), C.J. Dippre (TE), Tanner Arkin (TE/FB), Efton Chism (WR), Kyle Williams (WR), Lan Larison (RB), and Tommy DeVito (QB) started the game for the Patriots’ offense.
Gabe Jacas (OLB), Joshua Farmer (DT), Eric Gregory (DT), Jesse Luketa (OLB), Chad Muma (LB), Khalil Jacobs (LB), Kindle Vildor (CB), Karon Prunty (CB), Marcellas Dial (CB), Dell Pettus (S), and John Saunders (S) were the starters for defense.
Here are 10 takeaways from the Patriots’ 24-21 win, which was their final game at Gillette Stadium until Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 20.
1. Attendance check
As they did last week, healthy starters such as Drake Maye and A.J. Brown were dressed and participated in pregame warmups, although they did not play.
Players not seen on the field included Christian Gonzalez, Kevin Byard, TreVeyon Henderson, Craig Woodson, Reggie Gilliam, Eli Raridon, Ben Brown, Channing Canada, Xavier Holmes, Harold Landry (PUP) and Brenden Schooler (NFI).
Byard, Henderson and Raridon were surprises, as all three participated in the joint practices and aren’t known to have any injuries.
Gonzalez hasn’t practiced since Aug. 10, missing each of the last seven training camp practices, while Woodson was limited in Thursday’s practice.
Canada, Gilliam, Holmes and Brown were all absent from Thursday’s practice. Gilliam has been managed throughout the summer, while Brown suffered an injury in the preseason opener last Thursday that is expected to keep him out for a few weeks.
“I would say that those are individual situations that kept them out of the pregame warmup,” head coach Mike Vrabel said.
2. Marcus Bryant left the game injured
Marcus Bryant, who started at right tackle, was injured on the fifth play from scrimmage on a 1-yard run by running back Lan Larison.
The 2025 seventh-round pick from Missouri was helped off by trainers, putting hardly any weight on his left leg. He was then helped to the Patriots’ locker room shortly after and did not return to the game. The team announced it was an ankle injury.
Bryant is competing with rookie Caleb Lomu for the swing tackle job.
3. The depth concerns were on full display
Throughout the joint practices this week and into Saturday night’s preseason game, it was clear the Patriots lack depth, and Mike Vrabel knows it.
“I do not think we have a very deep team, so I think we have to make sure that we are preparing our football team and that we are doing everything that we can to keep our best players available,” Vrabel said when asked about the importance of getting some of the starters some action in the final preseason game. “And if that means playing Thursday as part of preparation, then that is what we will do. I have not made that decision yet, but I would say that that is something that I am confident in with where we are set up currently.”
Offensive line, edge, linebacker and tight end, notably, were areas where that lack of depth was on full display Saturday night.
The Patriots were extremely fortunate with their injury luck last season. So far in camp, Christian Gonzalez, Craig Woodson, Eli Rairdon, TreVeyon Henderson, Ben Brown, Marcus Bryant, Harold Landry, Brenden Schooler and Andrew Rupcich are all seemingly dealing with injuries.
Although most appear to be minor, it is a reminder of how thin the Patriots are and how quickly things could change if the injuries pile up.
4. Rookie Caleb Lomu played deep into the game and had struggles
First-round pick Caleb Lomu, the 28th overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft, got the start at left tackle and played deep into the fourth quarter.
The 21-year-old, who is the youngest player on the Patriots’ roster, had his fair share of struggles, getting beat a few times and overpowered on pass-rushes, as has been the case throughout training camp, highlighted by a sack allowed during the one-minute drill to end the first half when he failed to pick up a stunt.
“It’s always a great opportunity to be able to go out there on the field and play,” Lomu said after the game. “Wasn’t perfect again, but you know, I’ll be excited to go watch the film, and you work from my mistakes and just keep on going and work for next week.
Growing pains are to be expected when a player transitions from the college to the professional level, especially at tackle. The competition is bigger, stronger, faster, and more skilled. It adds another layer of difficulty when you consider he has been switching between right and left tackle throughout camp.
“It’s been a lot of good experience. A lot of you know hardship and mistakes through camp,” Lomu said. “But at the end of the day, it’s awesome to learn from these mistakes and these opportunities. It’s been a good progress so far.”
The rookie is very much still a work in progress.
5. Checking in on the RB3 battle
In Vrabel’s eyes, one running back vying for the third running back spot on the roster stood out above the rest.
“I felt like Lan [Larison] certainly had a good performance, a gritty, tough performance tonight, and did some really good things,” Vrabel said. “It is fourth and one, and he gets hit behind the line of scrimmage and finds a way to get the first down. And then we have another long pass, and he makes it, and then he is able to break a couple tackles there on third down when we needed it at the end of the game, so he did some good things.”
Larison signed as a rookie free agent in May of last year but missed the entire season after suffering an injury in the first preseason game. The UC Davis product had nine carries for 33 yards and a touchdown. He also added three receptions for 41 yards through the air.
Behind him, Hassan Haskins was efficient, finishing the game with four carries for 16 yards, while Jam Miller had 11 carries for 36 yards, including a 20-yard pickup that put the Patriots on the 13-yard line.
It was stock down for JaMycal Hasty, who fumbled and had only 12 yards on five carries.
6. Gabe Jacas had a costly penalty and showed there is still room for improvement
The 55th overall pick out of Illinois finished with four tackles and one quarterback hit, playing into the second half.
Early in the second quarter, the rookie was called for a costly roughing the passer penalty after delivering a late hit on quarterback Andy Dalton. The penalty negated an interception by cornerback Kindle Vildor that would have given the Patriots the ball inside the Philadelphia 25-yard line.
“[The coaching staff] was saying that’s just how the league is,” Jacas said of the coaching he received after the penalty. “It’s a learning lesson for me. Just gotta be careful after he throws the ball.”
Like in the preseason opener, Jacas struggled to set the edge at times, too often getting caught too far upfield in pursuit of the ball carrier.
Throughout the preseason, Jacas’ motor, violence, strength and speed have jumped out. But that aggressiveness has also gotten him into trouble at times.
The mistakes are coachable.
However, with only one preseason game remaining and just four days between games, Jacas might not have much time left to clean them up. Considering how late he played into Saturday night’s game, he might not have much more playing time before the games start to matter.
“Just still inconsistent. I think that the effort is certainly there. The willingness. He is a very coachable player,” Vrabel said of the rookie’s performance. “We are just putting a lot on him right now as far as special teams and covering kicks and playing on kick return. We have to be able to see what he can do and maybe what we feel like we can count on when the regular season comes. And I think he will just continue to improve because he has that type of attitude, and he is willing, and I know he will get back to work real quick.”
7. Kyle Williams had his second touchdown in as many weeks
After playing in the preseason opener, Mack Hollins and Kayshon Boutte had the night off, giving more opportunities to second-year players Kyle Williams and Efton Chism.
Williams had his second touchdown in as many weeks, a 69-yard bomb up the sideline after he blew by Eagles cornerback Ambry Thomas with a stutter move off the line of scrimmage.
Williams caught two of his six targets for 74 yards and the aforementioned touchdown.
The 23-year-old, who was selected in the third round (69th overall) last season, has popped in his opportunities in the preseason, although he has struggled to piece it together consistently.
The deep-ball threat on vertical targets is apparent and could become even more important for the Patriots if they do end up trading wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, who ranked fourth in the NFL in yards per reception (16.7) last season, behind Detroit’s Jameson Williams (17.2), Green Bay’s Christian Watson (17.5) and Indianapolis’ Alec Pierce (21.3).
“I just want to give Kyle as many opportunities to continue to improve and do the things that we have asked him to improve on, and he knows he needs to improve on,” Vrabel said. “I love his ability outside the numbers to be able to stretch the field. And we wanted to give him some more opportunities to be able to do that as well as work on some of the stuff that Todd [Downing] and Josh [McDaniels]have him trying to improve on.”
Efton Chism, who is also trying to prove he belongs in the Patriots’ group of seven roster-worthy receivers, also flashed hauling in four receptions on four targets for 45 yards.
Teams must reduce their active rosters to a maximum of 53 players by 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 30. Teams typically carry only five or six receivers, making the receiver room one of the most intriguing position battles to watch as the roster deadline approaches.
8. Quarterback Behren Morton served as the punter
With over seven minutes to play in the second quarter, the Patriots were punting on fourth-and-16 from the Eagles’ 48-yard line. While punter Bryce Baringer stayed on the sideline with his helmet on, seventh-round rookie quarterback Behren Morton, who is the third quarterback behind Drake Maye and Tommy DeVito, punted the ball.
Morton, who served as a kicker and punter at Eastland High School in Texas for a team that consisted of 25 players and competed in Punt, Pass and Kick competitions with his sister, Maggie, winning several local and sectional stages, punted the ball into the end zone for a touchback.
“Coach came up to me and just said that if we got a punt on this drive, you’re going out there,” Morton said after the game. “I was pretty cold at the time, so I went under the net, hit a few balls. I asked Ash ([Julian Ashby], ‘How far do I need to stand back?’ He told me 15 yards and catch the ball and just put it down there. Coach [Jeremy] Springer did a good job of lining me up. He said, ‘Just hit it middle, and then we’ll make corrections as we go.’”
It was not a one-off.
He finished with three punts, averaging 44.3 yards per punt. His 48-yard boot on his first attempt was his longest of the night, with the other two carrying 43 and 42 yards, respectively. Vrabel said after the game that the decision was made because Baringer “wasn’t feeling great.”
“Bryce wasn’t feeling great after the first two punts, so I figured instead of risking anything there with Bryce or with Andy, that Behren was able to get us out of there,” Vrabel said.
The 24-year-old out of Texas Tech also played his more natural position, quarterback, in the second half, finishing 13-of-17 for 129 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown came on a strike to Nick DeGennaro down the right sideline for a 37-yard touchdown, giving the Patriots the lead with 57 seconds remaining.
9. Kicker watch
After missing three of his five field-goal attempts, all wide left, from 56 yards, 55 yards, and 49 yards, in the preseason opener, there was plenty of attention on second-year kicker Andy Borregales on Saturday night.
Borregales, who converted 27 of his 32 field-goal attempts (84.4%) and 53 of his 55 extra-point attempts (96.4%) last season and is currently the only kicker on the roster, finished 1-of-1 with a make from 41 yards. He was 3-of-3 on extra points.
On Wednesday, head coach Mike Vrabel praised the 23-year-old for how he responded in practice after the rough performance against the Colts, noting that long snapper Julian Ashby, who started 17 games last season, was absent for the game.
“Again, I don’t want to make excuses, but we were trying to take a look at another snapper. Julian [Ashby] was dealing with something, so we felt like it would be a good opportunity to take a look at another snapper,” Vrabel said. “You just understand how critical that operation is, the snap, the laces, all the other things. Yes, we have to make them. But I felt like, to Andy’s credit, he had a great day in front of the team and was able to make the one there at the end, after the two-minute drill.”
Ashby returned to practice last Saturday for their first session after the preseason opener.
10. Tommy DeVito was good with what he could do
DeVito started at quarterback and played the entire first half, just as he did in last week’s preseason opener. The fourth-year quarterback, who signed as an undrafted rookie out of Illinois in 2023, finished 8-of-15 for 151 yards and a touchdown.
He was the team’s leading rusher, finishing with 44 yards on three carries, highlighted by a 36-yard scamper when he stepped up and found a running lane amid pressure from the Eagles.
It wasn’t perfect, but DeVito was under pressure seemingly all night and still managed to make plays with his legs and take care of the football. And as good as the route from Kyle Williams was on the 69-yard touchdown, DeVito’s throw was just as good.
The Patriots are in good hands with DeVito as their backup quarterback.
