Patriots start clock on Damien Harris, Gunner Olszewski; James White returns; Lingering thoughts

With the Chiefs on the horizon, the Patriots received some good news on the field as James White returned to the team, and Damien Harris and Gunner Olszewski were both "designated to return" from injured return.

But that doesn't necessarily mean Harris and Olszewski be in Kansas City on Sunday.

An explanation on why that is, and other Patriots thoughts — including DT Beau Allen remaining on IR — as the Patriots begin on-field prep for the Chiefs:

Under the new IR rules for this season, the team has 21 days to activate the players once they return to practice. Depending on how the Patriots feel about their current roster, Harris and Olszewski might not get the call this week.

You would think Olszewski (foot/ankle) might have the best chance because the Patriots had WR Isaiah Zuber up from the practice squad on Sunday, and he played, before reverting back. That's an easy and likely necessary spot to slip into.

Harris would be more complicated. Sure, you would like to see him be activated and thrown into the mix because he has the potential to be a playmaker and more dynamic than Sony Michel. But then you're likely deactivating — if not releasing — a running back. It would likely call for J.J. Taylor to be released with the hopes of signing him to the practice squad. Are the Patriots going to do that, this week, without an injury that would allow a player to be placed on IR to keep Taylor here?

 



I guess Cody Davis would be a candidate to slip to three-week IR, but Bill Belichick would rather cut his right arm off than to leave his special teams short one ace in a big game against a speedy team.

I would not be surprised to see Harris to stay on IR for at least week, and maybe through the bye week.

The first step is seeing how the players look in practice.

"We’ll see how it goes," Belichick said this week. "Sometimes, those guys, they’re not ready to play as soon as they start practicing. They need another week or two. So, if we do that, it would just be based on that player’s individual situation and how we can evaluate the guy during the time that we have to look at him, whether that’s a week, two weeks, three weeks, whatever it is. So, the first step would be to start him at practice and that starts the clock running on the activation process and then it becomes an evaluation process as we take it day by day."

James White returns to Patriots

James White, who recently lost his father in a car crash where his mother was also critically injured, rejoined the team for the first time since the day of Seattle game. His teammates were happy to see him.

"It was awesome, man," Devin McCourty told reporters. "And I think just having him around us, from a selfish standpoint, I think ... We love having him around and ultimately we want him to do was best, you know, for him and his family. And, you know, I know just with, a lot of you guys know when you go through different things, it's a good feeling sometimes just to be back in a normal setting back with a bunch of people who care about you and being able to lean on that support. So we were excited knowing he was coming back this week and having a back in the locker room, being able to catch up with him and laugh and have some good times with James is great. We look forward to him just being back with us."

LINGERING THOUGHTS/NOTES

If Joe Thuney was this good at center, why didn't they play him there last year?

Thuney had an outstanding first start at center on Sunday against the Raiders. He looked like a complete natural to the point that you didn't even notice any issues with shotgun snaps (not always easy — remember the one Ted Karras snapped over Tom Brady's head a few years ago for a TD?).

If Thuney was that capable at center, I think we can now say it was a mistake the didn't move him to center last season after David Andrews had to go on IR. The Patriots put Karras there, and his lack of athletic ability adversely affected the running game (Karras was a fine pass blocker).

The lack of a running game started a domino effect in this offense to the point it couldn't move the ball by running or throwing by the end of the season.

The Patriots could have had Karras, Jermaine Eluemunor or even Korey Cunningham play guard — and it might have been an upgrade if Thuney was great at center.

That's definitely a worthwhile second-guess.

Could Michael Onwenu's development cause a Thuney trade?

I thought the thought of trading Thuney was pretty much eliminated because of Covid, and that the Patriots didn't spend much capital to give them more options. But now that they've hit on the sixth-rounder out of Michigan — and fellow sixth-rounder Justin Herron passed veteran Korey Cunningham (inactive all three games) — could the Patriots think about a Thuney trade?

I doubt it, but it's certainly more possible than it was a month ago, especially with how Belichick talked about Onwenu today.

"Mike’s done a good job," Belichick said. "He’s a smart kid, he learns quickly ... Day after day, he’s just impressive. His consistency is impressive. He’s a very strong player with good feet, good balance and likes football and understands football. Things come pretty easily to him in terms of instinctively on the field. Obviously, our system is not the easiest system to learn at any position, but just instinctively when he has to make a decision, he has to decide how quickly to combo to level two, what angle to take to block down on the guy, so forth. He just does a lot of little things well and does them right. He’s done a good job for us."

I mean, that's extremely high praise for Belichick after just three games, not that's it's unwarranted. Onwenu has been terrific since about the second week of camp.

Belichick is talking about Onwenu as a starter, but he has no spots open at the moment. Depth is a focal point this year with Covid. The crucial player is actually Hjalte Froholdt. Do the Patriots think he can start at center if Thuney isn't here?

The answer seems to be a resounding no.

Despite being a 2019 fourth-round pick and having a good camp, Froholdt was passed over at center by Thuney and at guard by Onwenu.

Doesn't bode well for his future.