Originally I was going to take all the position battles and do a post on each, but upon further review that would be an exercise in tedium. How many of you would get excited about a full post about the thrilling battle for who the backup guard is going to be? Nobody? I thought so.
So instead of dragging this out I’m just going to lay them all out here in one handy dandy Friday post. This is peak #PatsFanProblems because there really isn’t a whole heck of a lot of uncertainty heading into training camp as to who will be on the field the most.
For the most part, then offense and defenses return intact, with a few notable exceptions. Offensively, Martellus Bennett and LeGarrette Blount departed and their roles were not insignificant, but the Patriots targeted their replacements with Dwayne Allen and Mike Gillislee (and maybe Rex Burkhead, BATTLE TIME!).
Defensively, Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard‘s departures left some uncertainty as far as the pass rushers go, and we know how everyone loves to talk pass rushers, while Logan Ryan‘s move to the Titans opened up a starting corner spot. But again, they brought in Kony Ealy, while drafting two other defensive ends, and gave cornerback Stephon Gilmore a mega deal to take Ryan’s spot.
So yes, all the turnover was pretty neatly handled, leaving the biggest questions at the bottom of the roster. But if you’re an obsessive Patriots fan (and if you’re reading this blog post there’s a pretty good chance you are) you care even about the minutiae like who the backup swing tackle will be.
Let’s breakdown the camp position battles!
