2022 NE Patriots Roster

[BigKen]

Here's a look at the Patriots Linebackers

Henry McKenna

July 13, 2022 8:04 am ET


The New England Patriots have no shortage of young talent at the linebacker position. With Jamie Collins, Dont’a Hightower and Kyle Van Not not returning, those young linebackers finally have a chance to shine. But it’s one thing to be promising and another thing to be impressive and consistent.
That’s the transition that this team’s linebackers must undergo in 2022. For years, the Patriots have selected linebackers with high draft picks. And for years, those players have not played. This seems to be the year New England is giving them an opportunity. And we’ll see what they’re made of.
So let’s take a look at what New England has to offer at the position.

Locks to make the team: Matthew Judon, Ja'Whaun Bentley, Josh Uche, Cameron McGrone, Ronnie Perkins​

Syndication: DetroitFreePress
Judon and Bentley were among the team’s most productive starters in 2021. Judon’s massive contract and Bentley’s recently-inked deal speak to their security with the team.
Uche, McGrone and Perkins are among the contingent of young linebackers that are on the verge of stepping up — or else. Uche was a second-round pick in 2020, Perkins was a third-rounder in 2021 and McGrone is a fifth-rounder in 2021. Because of their draft statuses and their promise, they all figure to make the team, even if they’re role players in 2022.

On the bubble: Mack Wilson, Raekwon McMillan, Anfernee Jennings, Harvey Langi​

Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports
I wavered on putting Wilson in the “locks” group, if only because he’s in a totally new environment. He has no financial ties to the team, which can cut him whenever and without recourse. And the Patriots gave up Chase Winovich to get Wilson. It’s possible New England felt it was going to cut Winovich this year. That said, Wilson is running with the first-team defense and appears to be a fairly significant player in the defense on the inside.
McMillan, like Wilson, was getting quality reps on the inside alongside Bentley. He will compete with Wilson for snaps and a roster spot.
As for Langi and Jennings, they both provide special teams value. As for on defense, they haven’t quite proven themselves as anything more than spot starters. But special teams alone has been enough to get these two players on the roster. Jennings was also a third-round pick, which seems to have given his career a longer shelf life despite his disappointing play.

Unlikely to make the team: Jahlani Tavai​

(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Tavai falls into the same category as Langi and Jennings when it comes to contributing on special teams but not necessarily on defense. The team just seems to like Langi and Jennings a little bit more.

 

[BigKen]

And the Cornerbacks

Michael Braithwaite

July 9, 2022 9:10 am ET


Although the New England Patriots bolstered their secondary this offseason with two mid-round draft additions and a few under-the-radar free-agent signings, New England’s cornerback group remains a position of concern for fans and media analysts alike heading into the start of training camp. The departure of number one outside corner J.C. Jackson in free agency and the lack of a surefire replacement for him has left the group without a true star talent and with a seemingly gaping hole at the outside corner position.
With Jackson gone, let’s take a look at how the rest of New England’s cornerback room will stack up heading into training camp, and see whether the options they currently have on the team will even have the chance to make the final roster at all.

Locks to make the team: Jalen Mills, Jonathan Jones, Marcus Jones, Jack Jones​

(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Mills is not naturally a cornerback, but the Patriots seem intent upon keep him in that role for the foreseeable future. Although by no means perfect in his role, Mills played the position adequately enough to keep him there for this season, and demonstrated his value to the defense in his positional versatility. Mills’ ability to play safety as well as corner provides him with excellent value to the defense, and if nothing else his bulky contract effectively solidifies him as a lock to make the team this upcoming season.
Everyone in Patriots nation saw how flat New England’s defense became last season when starting slot cornerback Jonathan Jones went down with a season-ending injury. Jones’ value to the team lies not only in his ability to play his position well but also in the lack of proven depth at the slot corner position behind him. Even if speedy third-round draft pick Marcus Jones wins the starting job in training camp, that lack of depth is severe enough to keep Jonathan Jones on the active roster as a reserve.
As for rookie draft picks Marcus Jones and Jack Jones, both were taken high in the 2022 NFL Draft (in the third and fourth rounds, respectively), and both fill positional needs (slot corner and outside corner, respectively). Thus, it is likely that both make the active roster after training camp. In fact, fourth-round selection Jack Jones is already in contention for the starting outside cornerback position with the offseason departure of Jackson and the lack of a true replacement for him in free agency.

On the Bubble: Malcolm Butler, Terrance Mitchell, Shaun Wade, Myles Bryant, Justin Bethel​

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Butler may come as a bit of a surprise to many reading this, but it is important to look at him through an objective lens. The 32-year-old outside cornerback signed a team-friendly 2-year, $5 million deal this past offseason coming off an unsuccessful stint with the Arizona Cardinals. In fact, Butler simply hasn’t been successful since leaving New England in 2018 for the Tennesee Titans. While Butler does fill a positional need for the Patriots, it is hard to imagine that he will immediately slot back in as New England’s number one outside cornerback upon his return to the team. While his re-signing certainly brings back a number of good memories for Patriots fans, Butler will have to prove that he still has a good ability to play well even at his older age.
Mitchell comes to New England most recently from the Houston Texans. While on the older side of 30, Mitchell has proven that he can be a starting cornerback in the NFL and plays the outside corner position that the Patriots are so desperately lacking talent in. Mitchell is on a team-friendly one-year deal so it is quite possible he gets cut before the season starts. However, if nothing else, Mitchell can be used as a cheap reserve option if New England decides to go with another player at the number one outside cornerback position.
Wade and Bryant both stepped up as reserve options last season, and, while neither truly impressed with their play, they both played well enough to be in contention for roster spots this offseason. The only downside is that Wade played predominantly outside corner and Bryant played slot corner, two positions that the Patriots added to this offseason. While depth at those positions is still thin enough for both players to work their way into reserve roles, they may only end up seeing the field if a teammate goes down with an injury.
Bethel isn’t truly cornerback as he predominantly plays special teams. Special teams players are by far the hardest to predict in terms of roster locks, but Bethel has played well on special teams thus far and will likely make the team in September. Hopefully, he can each stick to his special teams role — and steers clear of cornerback.

Unlikely to make the team: Joejuan Williams​

(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
This is a make-it-or-break-it year for Williams. The 2019 second-round draft pick at this point just has not been able to become a contributor — let alone the true No. 1 outside cornerback that the Patriots likely envisioned him as when they selected him three years ago. With a glaring hole at the position after the departure of Jackson in free agency, it seems as if Williams is primed to take over the starting role given both his relative youth as well as his experience in New England’s defensive system compared to the other outside cornerbacks. However, Williams has yet to prove that he has the ability to play well in his role, and, with him being on the last and most team-friendly deal of his rookie contract, the Patriots have the ability to cut him without absorbing much dead money in the process.

 

[BigKen]

Not sure I agree that the effort was not there, because that's a claim we cannot substantiate, it feels more like something we say to rationalize his lack of success. I eluded to the fact I felt the Pats misread him, misjudged him I feel this has more to do with it. At ASU he faced lesser talent and looked the part had he played in the SEC or BIG 12 he may not have jumped out at you because they defend so much better. I feel when the Pats took him in round one they failed to realize on of the most important aspects of any rookie. How high is the ceiling? He was very likely talent capped coming out of college and I feel the Pats missed that. We knew he could not get off the line clean or separate but they still took him round one. I don't put this N'Keal I think the Pats way way way overreached for him

Doug Keyd says what some of us suspected about Harry. I really hate the word "immature". In all honesty we're talking about 20-21-22 year old's
who've been treated like prima donnas for half their lives and now some 60 year old media guy thinks they need to grow up overnight.

AFC Notes: Bills, Jets, Patriots, N'Keal Harry

Bills Bills TE Dawson Knox commented on the team's Super Bowl expectations going into this season. "This time of year, everyone's always making predictions, and trying to predict records, and who's going to make the

nfltraderumors.co

 

[YankeeRebel]

Doug Keyd says what some of us suspected about Harry. I really hate the word "immature". In all honesty we're talking about 20-21-22 year old's
who've been treated like prima donnas for half their lives and now some 60 year old media guy thinks they need to grow up overnight.

AFC Notes: Bills, Jets, Patriots, N'Keal Harry

Bills Bills TE Dawson Knox commented on the team's Super Bowl expectations going into this season. "This time of year, everyone's always making predictions, and trying to predict records, and who's going to make the

nfltraderumors.co

Seems a bit of both Pats reaching or rather BB reaching, I really wish he would leave WRs alone. And his lack of maturation. And as I stated he may be at his ceiling.

 

[BigKen]

NFL Network has been showing games from 2020 & 2021. Over the past couple of days I DVR'd the Ravens v Pats in that horrific rainstorm and the Bucs v Pats.

Watching an upset win against the Ravens and gut wrenching loss against the Bucs highlighted a few things.

*Thank the good Lord that Cam is gone.
*Watching the Brady-less patriots in 2020 was agonizing.
* Covid really affected the quality of play week in and week out.

*Thank the good Lord that Mc Jones lasted until #15.

*Please, please, please find replacements for Isaiah Wynn and Mack Herron. Watching these guys give up two sacks in a row on the Bucs' 23 yard line a year later almost cost me my new 65" Vizio.

*Please, please, please find a way to get rid of Nelson Agholor. He literally tapped a pass to a Buc defender inside the Bucs' 20. He dropped two other passes that were almost perfectly thrown to him. How about a one year offer to Julio Jones? Having a 3 year old to help the young guys might be worth the roster spot and a couple million bucks.

Looks like 2022 will be a bellweather year. A lot of guys on the Patriots will be playing for their football careers. Bill has decided not to back-fill positions of guys that either have retired, couldn't pass the physical or were moved. Teams are allowed to carry 90 players into training camp and Bill is down to 84? 83?

The rumor mill has ground to a dead stop. All of the stuff about Tre Flowers, who signed a $1.85M one year deal with the Bengals and others has gone silent. Bill has nearly $10M in cap space to play with and he's not spending foolishly.

My new TV lineup actually includes NESN and NBC Sports Boston. Having been away from them for a month has now made me realize just how much BS the Boston media comes up with when there is no real news to report.

 

[BigKen]

Having a 3

Having a 33 year old.


My bad. Fingers are really stiff this morning.

 

[Southieinnc]

NFL Network has been showing games from 2020 & 2021. Over the past couple of days I DVR'd the Ravens v Pats in that horrific rainstorm and the Bucs v Pats.




How about a one year offer to Julio Jones? Having a 3 year old to help the young guys might be worth the roster spot and a couple million bucks.

Julio Jones? Seriously?

 

[BigKen]

Julio Jones? Seriously?

Julio Jones played only 10 games in 2021. 439 yards 1 TD

J. MeyersWR	17	16	126	3	83	65.9	866	222	10.4	50.9	2	39
K. BourneWR	17	5	70	2	55	78.6	800	385	14.5	47.1	5	75
3	H. HenryTE	17	10	75	0	50	66.7	603	144	12.1	35.5	9	35
4	N. AgholorWR	15	13	64	1	37	57.8	473	118	12.8	31.5	3	44
5	J. SmithTE	16	11	45	4	28	62.2	294	232	10.5	18.4

Jones averaged 43.9 yards per game

Meyers averaged 47.4 yards per game
Bourne averaged 47.0 yards per game
Henry averaged 35.4 yards per game
Agholor averaged 31.5 yards per game
JSmith averaged 18.3 yards per game


F*ckin skippy I'm serious.

 

[Southieinnc]

Julio Jones played only 10 games in 2021. 439 yards 1 TD

J. MeyersWR	17	16	126	3	83	65.9	866	222	10.4	50.9	2	39
K. BourneWR	17	5	70	2	55	78.6	800	385	14.5	47.1	5	75
3	H. HenryTE	17	10	75	0	50	66.7	603	144	12.1	35.5	9	35
4	N. AgholorWR	15	13	64	1	37	57.8	473	118	12.8	31.5	3	44
5	J. SmithTE	16	11	45	4	28	62.2	294	232	10.5	18.4

Jones averaged 43.9 yards per game

Meyers averaged 47.4 yards per game
Bourne averaged 47.0 yards per game
Henry averaged 35.4 yards per game
Agholor averaged 31.5 yards per game
JSmith averaged 18.3 yards per game


F*ckin skippy I'm serious.

Julio just can't run a lot of different patterns at this point in his career.
Mac does not need the distraction of another WR who can only play certain patterns.

You are turning into my 89 year old mother in law. Nothing is any good unless it's old. Really old. Over the hill old!

 

[Southieinnc]

"It looked like we were headed in the right direction and then had some setbacks along the way," Titans general manager Jon Robinson said at the NFL scouting combine. "Unfortunately, he wasn't out there enough to really make an impact week after week. When he was out there, he helped our football team. But it was one of those things that seemed like a nick every week that we were trying to work through. That's a balance that you always work through as players' careers start to get a little longer. You see some things and wonder if that was an isolated instance or is this going to be a repetitive thing."

Sources: Titans plan to release WR Julio Jones

The Titans plan to release wide receiver Julio Jones, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and Dianna Russini.

www.espn.com

 

[BigKen]

You are turning into my 89 year old mother in law. Nothing is any good unless it's old. Really old. Over the hill old!

Even crippled, he's better than Agholor.

Maybe, just maybe he's got that one super season left in him. At least give him a chance through the preseason and see what he can bring. If he can't do anything, cut him. If does have gas left in the tank, he might be just enough to tip the scale in Mac's favor in a tight game or two. He also might bring out the best in one or two of the kids.

 

[sharkymcwrath]

Even crippled, he's better than Agholor.

Maybe, just maybe he's got that one super season left in him. At least give him a chance through the preseason and see what he can bring. If he can't do anything, cut him. If does have gas left in the tank, he might be just enough to tip the scale in Mac's favor in a tight game or two. He also might bring out the best in one or two of the kids.

The entire NE offense had issues last season other than the RB's for the most part. Jonnu Smith totally sucked. Agholor sucked.

The offense will be better this season and if Smith and Agholor can improve a bit we should have a solid unit. IMO.

We don't need Julio.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

I'd give Julio a try. Depending on his asking price? He no longer can sustain being out there every play and I'm fine with that. Bring him in during critical situations. He's still got great hands and his vet presence would be a plus.

 

[Yankee Traveler]

I'd give Julio a try. Depending on his asking price? He no longer can sustain being out there every play and I'm fine with that. Bring him in during critical situations. He's still got great hands and his vet presence would be a plus.

And like @BigKen said, were down to 83 or 84 out of 90.
Can't hurt to have him in as a camp body/mentor.

 

[nefansince75]

Even crippled, he's better than Agholor.

Maybe, just maybe he's got that one super season left in him. At least give him a chance through the preseason and see what he can bring. If he can't do anything, cut him. If does have gas left in the tank, he might be just enough to tip the scale in Mac's favor in a tight game or two. He also might bring out the best in one or two of the kids.

If we're testing "maybe's" then maybe we try somebody that if the maybe works we have invested in several seasons like "maybe we keep that seventh round QB that currently sucks at WR" like we did in 2009 instead of "maybe we give this guy a chance to pad his HOF stats before he retires". Roster spots are valuable and what they contribute this year is not the only consideration.

 

[YankeeRebel]

If we are willing to bring in Julio why not Randy Vataha? We need youth, speed and WRs who can separate not old worn down WRs

 

[Southieinnc]

I'd give Julio a try. Depending on his asking price? He no longer can sustain being out there every play and I'm fine with that. Bring him in during critical situations. He's still got great hands and his vet presence would be a plus.

He hasn't been able to sustain for some time now.
He's just done but he'll hang around for $10 million! Forget him!

 

[Southieinnc]

And like @BigKen said, were down to 83 or 84 out of 90.
Can't hurt to have him in as a camp body/mentor.

He would not play in camp. Put him out to pasture!

 

[Yankee Traveler]

He would not play in camp. Put him out to pasture!

Yeah...no camp, no game.

 

[BigKen]

Not in total agreement with McKenna. I think six will stick. It all depends on what Bill can do with Agholor. If he can get rid of him, things will go one way. If not, how willing will he be to eat $10M cap hit ($5M Bonus/$5M Guaranteed)?

Henry McKenna

July 18, 2022 8:01 am ET


The New England Patriots are in a strange position of having too many mediocre to above-average receivers. Their depth chart doesn’t feature a top-flight receiver, but they have a group of five wideouts that might qualify as a WR2 or WR3 on most rosters. It will be an interesting — and perhaps everchanging — complexion of receivers from week to week during the regular season.
It’s possible the Patriots feature a different receiver, depending upon their matchup in a given week. One player could play 100% of snaps one week — only to play 30% the next week. But because they have that core of talent, the Patriots might have a handful of tough decisions, likely involving cuts or trades from the back end (or the top) of the depth chart.
Let’s dive into our training camp preview of the receiver position.

Locks to make the team: Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne, DeVante Parker, Tyquan Thornton​

Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
Meyers might just ink a long-term deal with the Patriots, and even if he doesn’t, he’s on a team-friendly deal. The team will want Mac Jones’ favorite third-down target in a Patriots uniform in 2022. Similarly, Bourne was one of Jones’ favorite targets. There’s no way he’s going anywhere.
New England drafted Thornton in Round 2, so while he might not play much this season, he’s definitely making the roster. And DeVante Parker cost the Patriots a third-round pick, so it would be stunning if he missed the cut. They will all be important players for the team in 2022 and, in some cases, beyond.

On the bubble: Nelson Agholor, Tre Nixon, Ty Montgomery​

Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
I’ve been hammering this point all offseason — maybe too hard. But I think there’s a chance the Patriots could trade Agholor before the start of the 2022 season. If Thornton looks like the player they hope he’ll be (a capable deep threat), then New England can pull the plug on their Agholor experiment. But the only way to do that is a trade — so they also need to find a trade partner, which might be tricky considering his rough year in 2021.
Nixon was the standout at minicamp. That has vaulted him into this list of bubble players. He will be one of the players to monitor when the team puts on pads. Will he disappear? Or will his ascent continue?
Montgomery provides interesting special teams value and the versatility to play both running back and receiver — though the Patriots have only given him run as a slot receiver this offseason. His versatility is what keeps him relevant.

Unlikely to make the team: Kristian Wilkerson, Lil' Jordan Humphrey, Malcolm Perry​

(AP Photo/Paul Connors)
Wilkerson had a few nice performances, both in preseason and the regular season. But he had problems with drops and that seemed to be enough to keep him from leapfrogging Harry on the depth chart last year. In a more crowded group, Wilkerson’s emergence looks unlikely.
It’s likely Humphrey and Perry are nothing more than camp bodies.