Finally. One week from Thursday the Patriots will be on the grass fields behind Gillette Stadium for the first official training camp practice of the summer.
After the most drama-filled offseason of the Bill Belichick era, there will be actual football to discuss. No more tension and who is upset with who talk, it will be time to talk real football.
Before that, here’s a quick reset of what happened to the roster this offseason, as it does look quite a bit different from the last time the team stepped on the field when it fell to the Eagles in Super Bowl LII.
Notable additions: Wide receiver Braxton Berrios (draft), defensive end Adrian Clayborn (free agent), cornerback Duke Dawson (draft), quarterback Danny Etling (draft), running back Jeremy Hill (free agent), wide receiver Jordan Matthews (free agent), cornerback Jason McCourty (trade), running back Sony Michel (draft), tight end Troy Niklas (free agent), wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson (trade), defensive lineman Danny Shelton (trade) and offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn (draft).
While there are a good amount of players listed, no one really jumps off the page. The Patriots weren’t that active in free agency as the biggest name is likely Clayborn. He will make an impact, but certainly isn’t a defense-changing player by any means. Wynn and Michel could be good, but they still are unknowns at this point having not played a NFL game yet. Veterans like Matthews, McCourty and Hill have the potential to work out, but it’s too early to see how they fit the system. Overall, it was a pretty underwhelming offseason when it came to new players being added.
Notable subtractions: Wide receiver Danny Amendola (free agent), wide receiver Brandin Cooks (trade), cornerback Malcolm Butler, running back Dion Lewis (free agent), offensive lineman Nate Solder (free agent).
Quite the list, huh. In terms of biggest losses, it’s likely between Solder and Amendola. Solder is the biggest loss on the field as even going into training camp there isn’t a definitive replacement yet at left tackle. But, Amendola is the hardest one to take as the team could have retained him, it just didn’t want to pay him around $5 million per year. The Patriots would not have reached the Super Bowl last year without him, as he put them on his back in the AFC title game against the Jaguars. A few receivers were added, but likely no one will be close to as clutch as Amendola. The other players listed are certainly tough losses, but aren’t as difficult to take as Solder and Amendola.
Biggest strength: Secondary
Even with the loss of Butler, the secondary is in great shape for the upcoming season. The safety spot is the best single position on the entire roster as Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon and Patrick Chung are a terrific trio. At corner, the loss of Butler is certainly a blow, but Stephon Gilmore may be one of the most underrated players in all of football and players like Eric Rowe, Jonathan Jones, Jason McCourty, Dawson and even Cyrus Jones are more than capable of stepping up and contributing behind Gilmore.
Biggest weakness: Linebacker
This position was one of the biggest weaknesses on the roster last year and nothing was done to upgrade it during the offseason. Only mid-round picks Christian Sam and Ja'Whaun Bentley were added, which puts a lot of pressure on Dont’a Hightower to stay healthy and lead the defense all season. It’s also putting a lot of pressure on Elandon Roberts, Kyle Van Noy and Marquis Flowers to be better than they were a year ago. This is certainly a position to keep an eye on, as at least going into training camp it feels vulnerable.