Another week of Patriots practice in the books that ended with a walk-through session inside Gillette Stadium. Plenty of news to cover from the past week, so let’s get our Sunday check-in from training camp.
Camp News
Some positive news out of the WR position was the return of N’Keal Harry from a number of missed sessions. The even more reassuring factor was the notable performances Harry put in against the defense. In a season where the team desperately needs him to make his second-year jump, Harry has started to show signs of his true abilities, whilst also building some chemistry with QB Cam Newton.
The kicking position has been made more intriguing by the addition of veteran Nick Folk. Whilst Justin Rohrwasser has the leg, his consistency and nagging injury is cause for concern. Right now, I can see the team going with Folk, Rohrwasser has a week to change that.
The QB race may not officially be over yet, but it seems it will have an anti-climatic ending. Since Jarrett Stidham took a trip to the hospital with a leg injury on August 20, Cam Newton has taken the majority of camp reps without looking back. The QB room the team has right now is a great mix of experience, youth, and raw talent, don’t expect any to be leaving the roster next weekend.
One recurring theme out of camp has been the defensive dominance on display, time, and again they’ve been far superior to the offense. Now, not everything is looking great, the D-line is an area of concern that could be an Achilles heel for the team, especially on run defense.
Rookies have shown promise through LB’s Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings, along with S Kyle Dugger. All three look set to play a bigger role than first thought this season.
Injury/Absences
Some positive news, the majority of the team’s lengthy absentees returned to practice this past week.
*Consecutive missed practices in brackets
LB Cassh Maluia (2)– (picked up a knock in practice, not thought to be serious), DE Chase Winovich (1)– No update
Limited/One’s to watch- LG Joe Thuney injured his hand during practice and was seen on Friday with large wrap padding around his left hand. DT Beau Allen took part in his first practice of training camp on Friday, still one to keep an eye on to see if he’s able to fully participate.
PUP/active list- RB Lamar Miller
Roster Transactions
A few roster moves to cover this week, firstly, on Monday the Patriots re-signed K Nick Folk to trigger a kicking competition within camp, early signs suggest that the veteran is winning the job. The Pats also added DT Michael Barnett to help bolster depth on the line.
On Friday, the team waived UDFA WR Will Hastings for a second time. Not a surprise, Hastings struggled to stay on the field during practices, and when he did suit up, he was mainly limited.
That move took the roster number to 79, leaving a potential addition on the cards for the wide out group, after having a number of FA WR’s work out for the team on Wednesday.
Yesterday the team pulled the trigger on WR Andre Baccellia, who offically signed with the team.
The 53-man roster cut down is scheduled for next weekend, so some further movement may occur between now and then. Keep a lookout for my 53-man roster projection coming later this week!
Salary Cap Check-In
@patscap currently has the team’s cap space number at $31,346,135.
The team still has plenty in the reserves to sit back and make additional moves as we edge ever closer to the regular season. Now, I wouldn’t expect anything ridiculous to take place, but trades along with further FA signings are on the table.
Remember, roster cut day is next Saturday.
