New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel turned some heads following his club’s second preseason game on Saturday. Vrabel would go on to clarify that his statement wasn’t wasn’t necessarily made as a way to take shots at the front office — which is smart considering he runs the entire football operation — but the truth after years of poor drafts and poor roster management. Marcus Jones is the only remaining player from their notoriously poor draft class in 2022.
Christian Gonzalez and DeMario Douglas are the only guys still kicking from 2023. Drake Maye and Marcellas Dial, the latter of which is a long shot to make the roster, are all that’s left from 2024. Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers, and Stefon Diggs are all still being paid by the club despite playing elsewhere.
Jonnu Smith, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Kendrick Bourne were signed to big-money contracts before ultimately being released -- all by different regimes across the last four seasons. It’s safe to say that the organization has already dealt with the repercussions of those moves, which included back-to-back four-win seasons, but one great bounceback year doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re done taking lumps… The Patriots stayed remarkably healthy in their run to Super Bowl LX, carrying the same starting offenses and defenses from Week 1 in Foxborough, Mass. to Week 22 in Santa Clara, Calif. Maye, Douglas, Jones, Hunter Henry, Mike Onwenu, Morgan Moses, Carlton Davis, and Christian Barmore went wire-to-wire.
Mack Hollins and Harold Landry III missed two games each. Gonzalez and Rhamondre Stevenson missed just three games. Will Campbell and Jared Wilson missed four, but everyone we just named was healthy enough to start in the AFC Championship and the Super Bowl.
It’s not going to happen like that again, folks. Vrabel understands that, which is why he kept starters out of preseason games and in bubble wrap on the sidelines — though their replacements haven’t looked too inspiring. Those are almost starters.
We know how many people are going to have to play for you throughout the season and there cannot be a drop-off.” If you look at each of the three preseason games, there have certainly been positives. Tommy DeVito has looked great as the backup quarterback. Kyle Williams will have a role within the offense.
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