If you have tickets to Saturday night’s preseason game at Gillette Stadium and you want to see the starters, get there early - like way early. Say pregame warmups. After two hard days of work with the Eagles, most of the important guys will be spectators, just like you.
But there are a handful of camp battles that are being waged that we’ll have our eyes on.
Quarterback: There’s no battle for the backup job. That’s Tommy DeVito’s. Period. End of story. But rookie Behren Morton could make a case to be on the 53 if he pops off, and he’s certainly about to get a bunch of reps now and again on Thursday in Cleveland. In fact, I could see a scenario in which he gets all of ‘em against the Browns. Can he be good enough that the Pats would choose not to risk him on waivers? Still seems unlikely, but there is no more important position in pro sports so…
Running back: You’ve got Rhamondre, TreVeyon and then who? With Terrell Jennings’ injury, the #3 job is open. Come on down, Hassan Haskins; the job is yours if you want it. Haskins was drafted by Vrabel and company in Tennessee, and while he’s never gotten many touches, he has been a strong special teams contributor. He’s also a hammer. 6’2”, 228 lbs, with good contact balance (he spun off a hit against the Colts). The team has been giving him more opportunities, and unless he falls on his face, I’d say Haskins will edge Lan Larison, who remains a practice squad candidate.
Wide receiver: Just feed Kayson Boutte the ball, then see if you can wrangle a 5th round pick from the Texans, who just lost Jayden Higgins for the year, or the Eagles, who made a lot of additions at WR, but still feel a man short.
Interior OL: I have been unimpressed by the backups. The Pats agreed, signing veteran Greg Van Roten. But it sure would be nice if one of the James Hudson, Mekhi Butler, Jacob Rizy (C) earned the staff’s trust to say, ‘Hey, if we need to get by for a game, one of these guys can handle it.’ To this point, I’d say none have gotten there.
Interior DL: You don’t think they brought in DaQuan Jones for a visit just for bleeps and giggles, do you? The 34-year-old has played a lot of football, and didn’t appear to be out of gas for Buffalo last season. I’m sure they wanted to see what kind of shape Jones was in. But the reason for the call was because the Pats haven’t found anyone to do a reasonable impression of Khyiris Tonga. Not Corey Durden, who was good last year. Not second-year pro Joshua Farmer. Not Eric Gregory. Durden’s spot is set, but they need at least one of the depth guys to show a little something. Hey, maybe it’s Isaiah Iton, who looked good last summer before suffering a season-ending injury. Iton seemed destined for the practice squad then.
Linebacker: Speaking of kicking the tires on a vet, Shaq Thompson was in the same day Jones was. He’s another Bills castoff, but someone who played a decent amount (545 snaps). This is another area where the Pats depth is, well, suspect. Robert Spillane is set. Christian Elliss is too, but he’s been nicked up this summer. Beyond that, veteran K.J. Britt seems to have overtaken Chad Muma (looked slow and out of position vs the Colts) and UDFA Khalil Jacobs, but I’m not convinced here.
Cornerback: Feels like Kindle Vildor is being viewed as a roster lock. At 28, he’s played a lot of football in a bunch of different locales. In other words, you can get by, but you’re always looking for someone better. I think that’s the case here. But who could that someone be? 5th-rounder Karon Prunty is not getting cut, but I’ve been underwhelmed. Marcellas Dial hasn’t looked like the same player he was before his ACL, and Kobee Minor hasn't had a good camp. I am intrigued by UDFA Channing Canada, as are they, given the opportunities they’ve given him. Still, Canada’s got to start playing the ball better and also didn’t impress in preseason game #1.
Safety: Dell Pettus is the clear #3 in my mind. That man is always around the ball. However, the Pats brought in someone they knew, Mike Brown, and he’s still getting opportunities. Meanwhile, John Saunders has made some plays against backups. Could he be given a chance to knock Brown off the roster (I had it that way on my first 53, but he remained behind Brown in practice, in my view).
NOT FOR EVERYBODY
The league has had a preseason problem for a long while. Fewer and fewer teams are playing their starters in the August exhibitions, which therefore continues to place greater emphasis on joint practices. From my perspective, those sessions are better gauges of what’s happening this summer than when teammates go up against teammates for the umpteenth time. But turns out, not everyone loves them.
"I'm the wrong guy to ask because I hate joint practices, to be honest. I think one day is good," Saquon Barkley said Thursday after the second of two days against the Patriots.
The Eagles running back isn’t alone. A joint practice between the Cowboys and Saints went so sideways - there were fights galore - the league’s competition committee used its authority to fine both teams $500K
"There's a discipline element to playing this football game," Dallas head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. "Unfortunately we didn't handle that very well."
The Pats and Eagles avoided any major dustups; there were several minor skirmishes, but nothing went nuclear. That was a surprise considering how competitive the two sides were.
"More times than not, nothing good comes out of it,” Barkley added. “When you have the work, it's good, but then you get the pushing, the shoving and someone says this about you, and it's 'I don't know about that, but you're this.' It's immature when you get to that level. I have to do a better job, too, because I'm a little troublemaker sometimes, but I was good this week."
If Barkley, one of the league’s choirboys, says even he gets caught up in the back-and-forth, I think it's easy to understand why most teams actually won’t agree to more than just a single day.
“Sometimes it becomes a wrestling match out there or an MMA fight,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said.
“You have the first day’s practice,” then-Saints HC but now Bears DC Dennis Allen said back in 2024. “One team or the other is going to feel like they got the better of the other team. Those coaches are going to go yell at their players. Their players are going to pissed off, and then that’s how that stuff happens, right?”
But most coaches prefer the joint practice environment not only because of how much work can get done — Drake Maye threw nearly 40 passes in 11-on-11s this week against Philly — but also because of the sheer control they have over it. Worried about red zone? Here’s a period or two against the opposition to fine-tune that? Want to put 1:05 on the clock and give the offense one timeout down a score? Easily entered into the practice script. Those are things that can’t be counted on in a preseason game.
“I mean, two days of joint practices with a lot of reps, I think upwards of probably 28 reps, 30 reps for the first group on each day is a good number,” Mike Vrabel said before this week. “Make sure that the intensity is there, and then we'll evaluate.”
“I think they’re a really good way to have a game-like experience that’s controlled,” Titans coach Robert Saleh said. “It’s amplified; the intensity is a lot higher.”
TUNE CHANGES
Funny how quickly money can turn a frown upside down.
Tampa Bay’s Vita Vea’s trade request has been rescinded after the two sides finally ironed out their contractual differences, giving the defensive tackle a one-year extension worth $30 million. $6 million of that is being given to the player this season, meaning he’s got two years and $48 million almost assuredly headed to his bank account.
"It's just one of those things, you'd love to get compensated and feel that your work is appreciated," Vea said. "Obviously in this league, the market goes up, and that's what happened. So we just had to work some things out, and we ended up getting it resolved."
The 31-year-old has been sitting out training camp with a minor back injury (insert laughing emoji here), and grew angry with the lack of progress that had been made on a raise, prompting his agent to text every insider in the business with the trade demand. Bucs GM Jason Licht said then the team wouldn’t acquiesce, and his persistence paid off.
“Vita is exactly the type of player and person we want to build around in Tampa Bay,” Licht said in a team-issued statement. “He has been a dominant force in the middle of our defense, an exceptional teammate, and a tremendous leader in our locker room.
“One of the keys to our recent success has been our ability to draft, develop, and re-sign core, foundational players who set the standard for what it means to be a Buccaneer. As one of our team leaders, Vita has played a big role in establishing that winning culture, and we are excited to have him continuing to help lead the way as we pursue our next championship.”
Vea has been the centerpiece of that defense since the Bucs drafted him in 2018, and will be needed even more after the offseason retirement of star LB Lavonte David. In four of the last five seasons, Vea has recorded at least 12 QB hits and had a career-high 7 sacks in 2024.
PASS RUSHER FOR HIRE
Earlier in the week, there were multiple reports that free agent edge rusher Za’Darius Smith was going to end his retirement and sign with the Browns. However, the 33-year-old zigged when everyone thought he was zagging, instead agreeing to terms on a one-year deal to join the Falcons. In doing so, Smith reunites with new Atlanta coach Kevin Stefanski, who had the veteran in, wait for it, Cleveland for two seasons.
"Za'Darius brings physicality, obviously. He's somebody that I've been with, so I have a comfort level with Za'Darius the person. Za'Darius the player certainly brings an element of a veteran pass rusher, but a guy who can play on all downs.
“…big personality, huge personality. You're gonna hear him before you see him. But heavy hands, good against the run, was an excellent teammate for us."
The Falcons found themselves in fairly desperate straits. 2025 first-rounder Jalon Walker blew out his knee at the start of camp and will be lost for the season, while fellow first-rounder James Pearce has been suspended eight games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. That left defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich with Samson Ekuban, Azeez Ojulari and Cameron Thomas on the active roster. That trio won’t be confused for being the modern-day version of the New York Sack Exchange, though I’m not sure how much Smith has left in the tank. He finished with just 1.5 sacks in 10 games last season in Philadelphia, then declared his career was over. A phone call from Stefanski and $6 million (or thereabouts) changed his mind.
Atlanta, paced by those two young edge rushers, set a franchise record with 57.5 sacks a season ago.
NEWS NUGGETS
- Lions tight end Sam Laporta is dealing with a minor but persistent hip injury that is putting his availability for the season opener in jeopardy.
- Saints RB Alvin Kamara suffered a sprained MCL during a joint practice with the Cowboys earlier this week and is expected to miss at least a month.
- Seahawks reserve WR/special teamer Jake Bobo suffered a severe knee injury Friday during joint practices with the Titans. Head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters Bobo would undergo imaging but believed it to be a “long-term” situation.