Thursday’s joint practice with the Giants marked the end of training camp this summer. Beginning Friday, it’s regular-season rules where the media only gets to see a short window at the start of practice.
This means there will not be much at all learned with how the quarterbacks performed on a given day, as well as much else. All that really can be taken away from the viewing window is who is there and who isn’t.
With that being said, the media was allowed to see 19 practices this summer and a lot was learned.
But, here are the three biggest questions the team still has with the regular season nearly two weeks away.
1. Who will be the starting quarterback?
This might be one of the biggest questions in the entire NFL, as there’s been no indication who will be under center Sept. 12 against the Dolphins. Despite missing five days due to COVID protocols, Cam Newton returned Thursday like nothing happened and still did things like he was the starter. Meanwhile, Mac Jones had his best day of the entire summer Wednesday against the Giants with Newton out. Everything we’ve seen and heard to this point has indicated Newton will be the starter, but on the field Jones has made a strong case, especially being a rookie and only going up from where he is now. We’ll see how things go Sunday in the preseason finale and then into early next week because the attention will shift towards preparing for Miami.
2. What is going on with Stephon Gilmore?
Now that the regular season is so close, this is becoming an issue for two reasons. No. 1, just that, the first game is nearly two weeks away and the Patriots need some clarity with the cornerback. Obviously, he wants a new contract, but will the two sides come to an agreement before Week 1, or will the Patriots need to prepare like they won’t have him? It feels like Tuesday’s 53-man roster deadline is a key date for the Patriots to have some idea on Gilmore’s status. If he remains on PUP he has to miss at least the first six games of the season. The second reason is it’s become clear the Patriots really need him on defense. No one has stood out behind JC Jackson at cornerback and Jonathan Jones went down with an injury in Thursday’s practice. In order for the Patriots to be a top-10 defense, which is the expectation, they need Gilmore on the field.
3. How will wide receiver look come Week 1?
This position was one of the biggest question marks going into training camp and now that it’s over, it still is. It doesn’t feel like it’s a dependable position, as the top three receivers will likely be Jakobi Meyers, Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne. Meyers has been the most consistent of them all, but the other two have had their fair share of bad days, including drops. At the back end of the position there’s Gunner Olszewski, N’Keal Harry, Kristian Wilkerson and Isaiah Zuber. Besides Olszewski, none of those players are lock for the 53-man roster, so that still needs to get sorted out. To sum this position up, they still are short a No. 1 receiver and therefore like last year, each player is played a spot ahead of where they should be.