1. The regular season begins in exactly two weeks, and as of now it’s unclear whether or not the Patriots will have Stephon Gilmore on the field. The veteran cornerback is currently still on PUP, but it’s not the quad that’s keeping him there, it’s really his contract. Gilmore is scheduled to make $7 million this season, the last year of his deal, but he wants more. The Patriots seem to not want to pay him as much as he would like. Someone is going to have to blink for this to get resolved, and to this point no one has — but that will change this week. Tuesday is the deadline for 53-man rosters to be set and if Gilmore remains on reserve/PUP after Tuesday, he will need to miss at least the first six weeks of the season. So, who will budge? At this point, it seems like it will be the Patriots. They can see how good their defense has the potential to be, but without much depth at the cornerback position, it needs Gilmore on the field to be as good as it can be. If he remains on PUP, or possibly traded, the defense will have Jalen Mills/Joejuan Williams opposite JC Jackson and that isn’t a recipe for success. Gilmore has wanted a new deal this entire offseason, but almost everyone didn’t view it as an issue, saying it wasn’t contentious and a deal would get done eventually. Well, the regular season is quickly approaching and nothing has changed. It’s time to look at this differently and say it’s close to becoming a very big issue. The Patriots need Gilmore on the field, and right now it seems that’s nowhere close to a guarantee.
2. While Mac Jones may look like the better player on the field and has the most potential, everything we’ve seen and heard from Bill Belichick indicates Cam Newton will be the Week 1 starter. No better example was Thursday when after missing five days due to COVID protocols, Newton came back and it was like nothing changed with his role. Despite Jones having his best day of the summer Wednesday, Newton returned as the starter. Belichick stood by Newton through the COVID “misunderstanding,” which seems to be another indication Newton will be QB1. Sure, Belichick could be playing everyone, but it really does seem everything to this point indicates Newton will be the starting quarterback against Miami.
3. Jones may have also indicated this was the case with his Thursday press conference. The rookie seemed a bit dejected and down. While this could have been from taking a step back from Wednesday with his play on the field, it could also be seen as an admission Newton is going to be the starter. Despite all the good the rookie did on Wednesday, it wasn’t enough to change his role the following day with Newton returning. Perhaps that said to the rookie that no matter what happens, he doesn’t have a chance of starting Week 1.
4. With what he did on the field, including being a key factor in the Super Bowl LIII win over the Rams, it’s hard to call Sony Michel a “bust” with the Patriots after he was traded to Los Angeles this week. If he’s considered a bust, what do you say about N’Keal Harry, Duke Dawson, Cyrus Jones, etc.? If Michel was taken in any other round, his career in New England would be viewed a lot differently. Do the Patriots regret the pick and wish they would have selected someone else? Probably. But, he should not be considered a “bust.”
5. Two positions that could be problematic this season have to be wide receiver and cornerback. The offense is still short a true No. 1 receiver and therefore everyone is playing a slot higher than they should be. No matter who is at quarterback, the Patriots still need people who can catch the ball. And then on defense, the lack of depth at cornerback has been exposed, even if Gilmore does get back on the field. Even if the front-seven is elite, that can easily be beat by opposing quarterbacks allowing for its receivers to make plays against a perhaps undermanned secondary.
6. One player who we cannot wait to see in the regular season is Matt Judon. The outside linebacker has been making plays left and right in the preseason, and that’s only been in about a half a quarter of playing time in each of the first two games. Imagine what he can do playing a full four quarters. Judon should have a monster year.
7. Following Sunday, the Patriots won’t have a game for two weeks, but that doesn’t mean this will be a quiet next few days. The initial 53-man rosters need to be finalized by Tuesday afternoon and then the waiver wire/practice squad comes Wednesday. It would not be a surprise at all to see the Patriots add a player or two from outside the organization, either via the waiver wire or even a trade in the coming week.