Ruins of Pompeii.

[The JZA]

Feel like Kayshon & Chase got the monster on their backs to prove their worth

[Soapy]

Patriots put fans' worries to rest with dominating performance against the Rams in dress rehearsal game
R-E-L-A-X.

Patriots fans can relax after seeing their team struggle in the first two preseason games with many wondering if New England's busy offseason was mostly cosmetic. Marcus Jones intercepted Matthew Stafford on the Los Angeles Rams' first drive, returning it for a touchdown and Drake Maye led three consecutive scoring drives against the Rams' first team defense in New England's 37-14 rout of the Rams.

Maye was nearly perfect, going 10 of 11 for 115 yards in a half of action where Rhamondre Stevenson got in the endzone twice in his preseason debut after being held out the other games. Antonio Gibson enjoyed the fruits of the offseason labor of revamping the offensive line, averaging 7.4 yards per carry on ten touches, getting in the endzone as well.

Grand opening for Ja'Quinden Jackson
The Patriots signed undrafted rookie running back Ja'Quinden Jackson on Wednesday and by Friday, the former Arkansas running back led the team in rushing with seventeen carries for 78 yards and a touchdown. A lot of it was due to injuries -- more on Kyle Mongangai later -- as he was the only reserved running back behind Stevenson and Gibson with R.J. Harvey injured as well.

This is the type of crunch time performance that wins roster spots and Jackson might have just done that after not being signed all training camp and was likely on his way to another league but he remained patient, got the call and balled out.

It was also the preseason debut of Michael Pratt, the Patriots fourth quarterback. Pratt outplayed Mariota, going 4 of 5 for 40 yards compared to Mariota's 5 of 10 for 51 yards. Joe Milton III did not play, likely an indication that his roster spot is safe, as expected.

Defense shows promising signs
It wasn't always pretty with Stafford dicing up New England's pass defense on the second drive of the game after the early Marcus Jones' pick six but all in all, head coach Jerod Mayo should come away happy with the improved performance.

The Rams had only 233 yards of total offense and just 131 through the air. Puka Nacua found some early success but Jones would hunker down and shut him out for the most of the game following that second drive where he scored a touchdown. Cooper Kupp got loose a few times for three catches and 56 yards but they limited the explosive plays with just one catch over 20 yards.

Anfernee Jennings was a bright spot in the pass rush and Chase Young made his presence felt in the running game as did Tyrel Dodson who continues to separate himself from Ja'Whaun Bentley.

Quiet night for guys that needed to make some noise
It wasn't all positive. Kayshon Boutte needed to show something to earn that sixth receiver spot and instead he caught one pass for four yards while Javon Baker was held catchless.

Jaheim Bell didn't do much either as he struggled to make his presence felt when out there.

Marcellas Dial and Layden Robinson, however, did have solid outings with Robinson not surrendering a pressure and made some key, point of attack blocks on some short yardage pickups, including a touchdown. Dial was solid in coverage as Jacoby Brissett was held to 4.2 yards per attempt.

Injury News
Edge rushers Josh Uche and Keion White were both held out after going through pre-game warm ups. At one point, Uche did suit up and his right foot was heavily taped before he went back to the locker room and came back out of uniform. For White, he missed some time earlier this week in practice with an apparent leg injury and was on a definite pitch count throughout the week so his absence was expected.

Will Campbell's night was cut short on the second drive, leaving the game with an hand injury. It's unclear at the moment how serious it is but given how quickly New England ruled him out from returning, his status for the opener is in jeopardy.

Anfernee Jennings was having a hell of a night with five tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks, including a safety, but it ended rough after the hot start as he left with an apparent shoulder injury. Jennings entered the night as a bubble player and availability is the best ability when you're on that edge so hopefully it's a quick recovery for the former Alabama player.

Speaking of bubble guys, Kyle Monangai probably had a roster spot locked up and then in the second half, he left the game with an injury. Has he done enough to be worth a roster spot while injured or is he headed towards IR as a stash away player for next year?

[Captain Canada]

Let's see some decisions, going to be interesting what this roster ends up looking like.

[Soapy]

Let's see some decisions, going to be interesting what this roster ends up looking like.

fav time of the year, where real chisers thrive

[Soapy]

New England Patriots turn their attention towards Miami as they make final roster cuts
The New England Patriots have made their final roster moves ahead of the 2025 NFL season, releasing 22 players to meet the 53-man roster limit as they get ready to face off against the Miami Dolphins.

Quarterback
Starter: Drake Maye
Backups: Marcus Mariota, Joe Milton III
Practice Squad: Michael Pratt
Cuts: None

Pratt makes the practice squad after showing some promise in the preseason finale and Milton, once more, is on the active roster as the third quarterback. The interesting thing will be if -- God forbids -- Maye were to go down, would it be Mariota or Milton? Mariota is the backup in name, and has experience as a veteran quarterback, but Milton thoroughly outplayed him throughout training camp and in the preseason.

Running back/fullback
Starters: Rhamondre Stevenson, FB Patrick Ricard
Backups: Antonio Gibson, Kyle Monangai
Practice Squad: Ja'Quinden Jackson
Cuts: R.J. Harvey (injured reserve)

Monangai makes the roster after avoiding an injury scare in the preseason finale. Jackson showed enough to make the practice squad but not enough for the Patriots to carry four running backs after getting away with carrying just three on their active roster last year. Harvey is placed on IR so he could return later this season but for now, New England is rolling with just three running backs on the roster, not counting Ricard.

Wide Receiver
Starters: Demario Douglas, Barion Brown, Ja'Lynn Polk
Backups: Javon Baker, Xavier Restrepo, Keandre Lambert-Smith
Practice Squad: Kayshon Boutte
Cuts: None
Trade: Tyquan Thornton (Cleveland, 2024 4th round pick)

Probably the most intriguing room heading into cut week and it lived up to the hype with Tyquan Thornton being dealt to Cleveland to join Cam Ward's group of receivers after being named the starter over Deshaun Watson.

Lambert-Smith's ability as a returner ultimately won him a roster spot over Boutte who makes the practice squad and is at high-risk of being poached by another team. He showed ability last season as a downfield threat but with the addition of Barion Brown, who is better already, and Xavier Restrepo who is younger with better hands, there just wasn't a spot or a role for him on this team. He'll be a name to watch throughout the regular season in case an injury pops up.

Tight End
Starter: Hunter Henry
Backups: Oscar Delp, Orondo Gadsden II
Practice Squad: Jaheim Bell
Cuts: Cameron Latu


The first outright cut from the roster, Latu never got a chance to get on the field during a game this preseason so his release wasn't a surprise. The real battle was between Gadsden, an undrafted free agent, and Bell who spent last year on the active roster, even catching a touchdown pass and being elevated to the backup tight end role in front of Austin Hooper by the end of last season.

Bell heads to the practice squad while Gadsden makes the active roster, joining Kyle Monangai and Keandre Lambert-Smith as the three skill players to make the roster.

Offensive Tackles
Starters: Will Campbell*, Michael Onwenu
Backup: Caedan Wallace*, Vederian Lowe
Practice Squad: Ryan Van Demark
Cuts: John Ojukwu

Will Campbell is expected to miss a few weeks with the broken thumb suffered in the preseason finale so it'll likely be Caedan Wallace to start. The fact that New England isn't carrying a fifth offensive tackle bodes well for Campbell's chances of a quick return.

Guards
Starters: Brandon Scherff, Layden Robinson
Backups: Sidy Sow, Marcus Tate
Practice Squad: Donovan Jennings
Cuts: Alec Anderson

With Sow likely to miss the opener with an injury, Tate makes the roster despite a shaky preseason. Sow is expected to be back fully healthy by the second or third week of the season so Tate isn't out of harms away just yet as he'll need to prove, in practice, that he's a reliable guard that could be counted on to spell injured players for a short period. New England is taking a chance on him by keeping him on the active roster over Anderson but young and talented lineman are a premium.

Center
Starter: Drew Dalman
Backup: Jake Andrews
Practice Squad: Dylan McMahon
Cuts: None

No surprises here except for the fact that New England is carrying a full ten-man offensive line, once healthy, which gives them adequate depth, when you factor in the practice squad, to deal with the various injuries that a season brings. This group is a lot more talented and top heavy than last year's unit which really only had two above average to average starting caliber linemen in Onwenu and David Andrews.

EDGE
Starters: Chase Young, Josh Uche
Backup: Eric Watts, Jamie Sheriff, Anfernee Jennings
Practice Squad: None
Cuts: None

They all make the roster, including Jamie Sheriff and Eric Watts who made some splash plays. The focus, once the season starts, will be in Chase Young and Josh Uche who signed big deals to come to New England in Young's case and a third extension for Uche who many feel was undeserving of a big extension.

Interior Defensive Line
Starters: Christian Barmore, NT David Onyemata, Keion White
Backups: Jarran Reed, NT Eddie Goldman, NT Nazir Stackhouse
Practice Squad: Raymond Vohasek
Cuts: LaBryan Ray, Eric Johnson II

The return of Christian Barmore from injury is a big one as he might already be one of their best players on the team and they added a true nose tackle in David Onyemata to replace Davon Godchaux and Keion White continues to improve with his versatility to play multiple positions on the defensive front.

No surprises here although its a positive sign that Stackhouse made the active roster and not the practice squad as a late draft pick.

Linebacker
Starters: Jahlani Tavai, Ja'Whaun Bentley, Tyrel Dodson
Backups: Sione Takitaki, Shaq Quarterman
Practice Squad: Curtis Jacobs
Cuts: Chazz Surratt

Jacobs and Quarterman both had very solid preseason while Takitaki dealt with injuries for most of it. He'll start of the year on the injury report and is likely sidelined for at least the opener, which helped Quarterman's chances of making the roster while Jacobs heads to the practice squad.

Beyond that, it was a spooky few hours for Bentley with many wondering if the team was ready to move on from their long-time captain following the acquisition of Tyrel Dodson over the offseason, who has been balling.

Cornerback
Starters: Christian Gonzalez, Marcus Jones, Benjamin St-Juste
Backups: Daylen Everett
Practice Squad: Marcellas Dial
Cuts: Christian Holmes

It was a strong preseason for Marcellas Dial and Christian Holmes but not enough to warrant the Patriots carrying extra corners. This is a solid group and a strength of the team that could end up being one of the better corner units in the NFL.

Safety
Starters: Jabril Peppers, Kyle Dugger
Backups: Marte Mapu, Sheldrick Redwine
Practice Squad: Brenden Schooler
Cuts: None

Redwine played pretty well in the preseason and has the special teams upside that Schooler brings so while its a surprise on the surface that Schooler didn't make the roster, the numbers are getting tight and Redwine just provides mroe.

Specialist
Starters: K Andres Borregales, P Ryan Stonehouse, LS Joe Cardona
Practice Squad: P Bryce Baringer
Cuts: K Riley Patterson

[Soapy]

Rams deal former All-Pro WR Cooper Kupp to New England for Ja'Lynn Polk, two draft picks
The New England Patriots have acquired former All-Pro receiver Cooper Kupp from the Los Angeles Rams in a trade that nets franchise quarterback Drake Maye his go-to receiver.

The Rams traded Kupp in exchange for second-year receiver Ja'Lynn Polk, a 2026 second and fourth round pick. New England is absorbing the remainder of Kupp's base salary while the Rams, who are likely heading towards a rebuilding year, are eating $17.9 million in dead money that was guaranteed to Kupp.

The 32-year old receiver had a bounce back season last year, catching 105 passes for 1,298 yards and nine touchdowns after failing to reach the 1,000-yard mark in the previous two seasons following his triple crown year in 2021 when he led the NFL in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

The trade has been in the works since the two teams met in the preseason finale where Kupp caught three passes for 56 yards. The front offices couldn't come to an agreement as the Patriots, at the time, were unwilling to part with some of their draft capital. Following the weekend of cuts to the final 53-man roster, where New England acquired a fourth round pick for receiver Tyquan Thornton in a trade with the Browns, both teams reconvened and were able to come to an agreement in terms of compensation and how the remainder of Kupp's contract would be paid out.

[Soapy]

[Captain Canada]

Kupp

[Soapy]

Kupp

need a quality white boy at all time

[Baze]

Edelman vibes