One more game day until the games count.
The Patriots will kick off their final preseason finale tonight in Cleveland, another game in which they are not expected to play most, if not all, of their starters.
Head coach Mike Vrabel said over the weekend he does not believe the team is very deep, so the coaching staff has prioritized the health of Drake Maye, A.J. Brown and others by benching them this preseason. Just five days since their last exhibition, the Pats will suit up again with a few roster spots still at stake.
Here are five things we’ll be watching from the Patriots tonight:
#### 1\. The new guy
Will Jaylen Reed play?
Reed did not participate in the Patriots’ last practice Tuesday, but could see a few series given the defense is expected to work from a vanilla game plan. Reed, a second-year safety and 2025 sixth-round pick, was the focus of the Patriots’ return in the trade that sent Kayshon Boutte to Houston on Monday. Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said Reed is known as a high-IQ player, which could also factor in his ability to play right away.
“He’s supposed to be really smart, so we’ll see if our reports on that are true,” Wolf said. “But talking to him (Tuesday) morning, he’s really eager and excited to be here and has pledged to be more violent on special teams.”
The Patriots faced Reed in the divisional round of the playoffs last year, when he was a rookie making his second career start as an injury replacement for the Texans.
“We followed his career last year with Houston and thought it was pretty remarkable that, as a rookie who hadn’t played much during the regular season, they trusted him enough to play the majority of the playoff games,” Wolf said.
#### 2\. Lomu’s pass protection
Unlike most top backups, first-round rookie Caleb Lomu has played deep into both preseason games.
Lomu was battling former seventh-round pick Marcus Bryant for the team’s swing tackle job until Bryant went down with a leg injury last Saturday. Now, if starting left tackle Will Campbell or right tackle Morgan Moses were to follow suit, Lomu would be next up. Against the Eagles, he often forced a stalemate late in his reps of pass protection, yet still allowed a sack and two other pressures.
Offensive lineman Caleb Lomu grabs a drink on the field during Patriots training camp in Foxboro on Aug. 10. Nancy Lane/Boston Herald
Can Lomu cut down on his mistakes in pass protection? According to Vrabel, Lomu can win earlier by sticking to some his fundamentals.
“You do not want to rely on being able to recover too much. I think just being square, throwing your hands, playing with a good base, not getting overextended are things that can help you.” Vrabel said.
#### 3\. Inside linebacker battle
Undrafted rookie Khalil Jacobs appears to have an inside track on one of the reserve spots behind starting inside linebackers Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss. As for everybody else, it’s a harder case to make.
Sixth-round rookie Namdi Obiazor made a nice pass breakup in the end zone during the second half of last Saturday’s win, but has mostly played special teams this summer. Veteran pickup K.J. Britt has flashed at times as a blitzer and run defender, and forced a fumble from behind in the preseason opener against the Colts. Chad Muma, who had been the Pats’ No. 3 inside linebacker at the start of camp, has slipped lately but remains athletic enough to make an impact.
Who will step up Thursday night?
#### 4\. Can another edge defender emerge?
If cutdown day was tomorrow instead of Sunday, the Patriots would keep at least three outside linebackers/edge defenders.
Dre’Mont Jones, Elijah Ponder and second-round rookie Gabe Jacas. That might be it.
Ponder and Jones will be the Patriots’ starters until Harold Landry (knee) is activated off the Physically Unable to Perform list. Behind them, Jacas flashed in one joint practice against the Eagles and again on Monday, when he had three pressures during team drills in a regular practice. But he’s struggled against the run and pass in the preseason games.
Ideally, the Patriots would feel better about one of Bradyn Swinson, seventh-round rookie Quintayvious Hutchins or veteran backup Jesse Luketa. Time is running out for one of them to make a late push for the 53-man roster.
#### 5\. Where is Greg Van Roten?
If the Patriots are right about Greg Van Roten, they may have fixed their depth along the interior of their offensive line.
But that is an if as big as he is at 6-foot-4 and 295 pounds.
A career journeyman who’s started for four teams, including the Giants who had him at right guard the past two years, Van Roten is already taking snaps at left guard, center and right guard in practice. Once Ben Brown returns from a right leg injury, the Patriots will have two veteran backups covering their three interior O-line positions.
But the Patriots may be waiting on Brown for another few weeks, which means Van Roten must get up to speed at left guard and center. Will that start tonight?
“Everyone thinks it’s super easy to just flip your hips and switch positions, but it’s not,” Van Roten said Tuesday. “Thankfully, I’ve had experience starting games in the NFL at all three inside, so (it’s) just a matter of getting back into the groove.”