EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It’s hard to come to any meaningful conclusions after a third and final preseason game, but Thursday night’s 42-10 loss to the Giants might have shown some depth issues on the Patriots’ roster.
Head coach Mike Vrabel said the Patriots will “continually try to strengthen” their roster in every way they can before the start of the regular season, when they take on the Raiders on Sept. 7 in Week 1.
“There’s a couple options, right? You can try to trade for players. You can try to claim some players next week,” Vrabel said. “So again, we’re always going to be trying to strengthen the roster, and that’s what we’ll try to do here over the course of the next 10 days.”
Here are some spots the Patriots could address before or after Tuesday’s roster cuts:
INTERIOR OFFENSIVE LINE
Center Garrett Bradbury, right guard Mike Onwenu and rookie Jared Wilson are locks. It would be a pretty major surprise if center/guard Ben Brown is not on the Week 1 roster. But beyond those four players, the Patriots would ideally roster a fifth interior offensive lineman.
Cole Strange, Caedan Wallace, Sidy Sow, Tyrese Robinson, Layden Robinson, Mekhi Butler and Alec Lindstrom all have been given ample opportunity to earn the role, but not have taken the reins.
It would not be surprising if the Patriots could find a better guard on the waiver wire.
TACKLE
It’s not easy to find offensive tackle help at this stage, but behind Will Campbell, Morgan Moses and Marcus Bryant, none of the other tackles on the roster — Vederian Lowe, Demontrey Jacobs and Jack Conley — have differentiated themselves from the pack. And oddly, Wallace has not seen any work at tackle this summer.
Lowe would likely win the fourth tackle spot right now, but the Patriots should be on the lookout for a better option.
TIGHT END
Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper are on the roster. But Jack Westover, Cole Fotheringham, CJ Dippre, Gee Scott and Jaheim Bell all seem like better practice squad options than players worthy of 53-man roster spots. It would also be extremely surprising if any of those players were claimed off of waivers.
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels loves using tight ends. Perhaps the Patriots could find a better third blocking tight end in a trade.
LINEBACKER
The Patriots could get by with Robert Spillane, Christian Elliss, Jahlani Tavai and Jack Gibbens here, but Tavai’s health is a question mark. He’s barely practiced this whole summer.
If Tavai starts the season on injured reserve, that opens up the possibility that Marte Mapu or Monty Rice makes the roster. Neither have really decisively proven they deserve a spot, however.
THIRD QUARTERBACK
If the Patriots keep Ben Wooldridge around as their third quarterback behind Drake Maye and Joshua Dobbs, then he’ll likely begin the season on the practice squad.
Did the Patriots see enough from Tommy DeVito in Thursday’s preseason game to put in a waiver claim, assuming he’s released, however? DeVito carved up the Patriots’ defense, going 17-of-20 for 198 yards with three touchdowns. He’s 3-5 as a starter and could push Dobbs for the backup role better than an undrafted rookie.
CORNERBACK
In today’s NFL, it’s useful to keep six cornerbacks on the roster, especially if they have special teams flexibility. Expect Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Marcus Jones, Alex Austin and DJ James to make the roster. There’s no obvious candidate for the sixth spot, however. Miles Battle, Jordan Polk and Kobee Minor all struggled on Thursday night. Isaiah Bolden and Brandon Crossley have had quiet summers.
Cornerback seems like a spot the Patriots could fill through a trade or waiver wire addition.
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