6 rings: What to expect in the Patriots preseason finale
There are plenty of roster decisions that will be made across the NFL prior to Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline, while wide receiver, linebacker, and offensive line are arguably the three most contentious position battles for the Patriots, there’s one that’s flying under the radar: the defensive line.
New England’s room currently consists of Christian Barmore, Carl Davis, Daniel Ekuale, Davon Godchaux, Lawrence Guy, Jeremiah Pharms Jr., Sam Roberts, Justus Tavai, Keion White, and Deatrich Wise Jr. While it sounds like a solid group, there are plenty of question marks heading into cutdown day.
For starters, defensive tackle Lawrence Guy, who has been with the Patriots since 2017, held out of minicamp this Spring due to being upset with his contract and while he’s been with the team throughout the entirety of minicamp, his future in Foxborough may be in question.
NFL Network’s Eric Edholm recently named Guy a surprise trade candidate for New England:
“After bouncing from roster to roster over his first few years in the league, Guy became an underrated cog up front for the Patriots. But at age 33, coming off a shoulder injury last season, Guy's value appears to be on the downtick. He held out of minicamps this summer, reportedly upset with his salary, but it doesn't appear Guy will get paid again in New England.
In fact, with the emergence of Daniel Ekuale and second-round pick Keion White, Guy might be on the move this August. We speculated a few weeks ago that Guy could lose his starting job, with Christian Barmore and Davon Godchaux ahead of him, and New England's solid depth could allow the Patriots to flip him to a needy team for a lower pick.”
Certainly something to monitor.
Once you get past roster locks, (Christian Barmore, Deatrich Wise Jr., and Davon Godchaux) the question marks continue. Caril Davis was a limited participant in practice this week, Daniel Ekuale is a boom or bust type of player, and although promising so far, Keion White is still just a rookie.
Sam Roberts, a sixth round pick in 2022, is another interesting situation. One of my 10 players to watch on Friday night, Roberts played 57% of defensive snaps and 15% of special teams snaps last week in Green Bay, and played well despite two silly penalties. He’s a bubble player that can benefit from a quality performance in Nashville, especially given New England’s recent activity on the free agent market.
Just this week, the Patriots claimed defensive tackle Marquan McCall off of waivers before releasing him the next day due to injury concerns. Then on Thursday, then brought in DL Chris Wormley for a workout.
Clearly, this team is not comfortable with their defensive front.
Is a Guy trade imminent? Do they not trust Roberts, Ekuake, or Davis? I’m not sure what it is yet, but something’s brewing in New England’s trenches.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
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