The ramp up is over, it is soon time for the real thing: in two weeks, the New England Patriots will open their 2025 regular season against the Las Vegas Raiders. Before that game, however, both teams — like the rest of the NFL — will need to reduce their rosters to no more than 53 players.
Before fully turning our attention to the cutdown deadline set to come Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, however, let’s also look back a bit. Welcome to the latest edition of our Sunday Patriots Notes.
Challenge awaits
The Patriots moving on from several players over the coming days also means creating an uncertain future for both them and their families. Unsurprisingly, head coach Mike Vrabel aims to handle the process as professionally as possible, all while acknowledging the challenge it presents.
“We put a lot into this, into the players, getting to know them,” he explained. “The roster is going to change. That’s part of the business that we’re in. We always want to make those transactions as respectful as possible. That’s part of the game. That’s kind of the life we’ve chosen. There will be some conversations that we’ll have with players over the next few days. We’ll keep those obviously very respectful. Hopefully some of those guys can either end up back on our team or somebody else’s.”
Shape-shifting mode
For the Patriots, the goal of roster cutdown week seems simple: find the 53 players best suited to lead the team to a successful 2025 season. However, as vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden knows, the task of building the team does not stop at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
“It’s ever shifting,” he said. “As you see things happen, as you get injuries at certain spots, you may think you had depth in one area, and then all of a sudden, you’re thin. I think it’s a shape-shifting process.”
The Patriots experienced those changes first-hand this summer, with injuries at cornerback and wide receiver forcing them to adapt on the fly.
“If any one area has been better or worse than expected, I don’t really think of it in that terms,” Cowden explained. “It’s just constantly looking at each position room and going, ‘Are we good enough in this room? Is the fifth guy in that room good enough? Do we need to get outside help? Do we feel like we can be competitive in each of those rooms?’”
Mike Vrabel, jack of all trades
After their mutual split with head coach Bill Belichick in January 2024, the Patriots hoped to diversify; Belichick had worn dozens of hats as head of the team’s football operations. To a degree, the organization has done that. However, listening to his assistant coaches makes it clear that Vrabel is having a Belichick-like reach.
“He’s in involved in every aspect of our football team,” said defensive coordinator Terrell Williams. “That’s the type of head coach he is. He is involved in offense, defense, special teams, the training room, the meal room, the grass, everything. He’s involved in everything, and I love it.”
Outside linebackers coach Mike Smith echoed Williams’ description of their head coach.
“He’s involved in everything,” Smith said. “All the great coaches that I’ve worked for, they might be different but they have something in common. He’s very similar to Andy Reid. Andy might not get out there and put that stuff on, and he might not yell as much. But they’re both very clear in their plan. There’s no gray area.”
“I think he’s pretty good at setting the tone of a team that he wants, a play style that he wants,” added inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr. “He hammers it every day. I think he sets high standards and expectations, which I think the guys like. He pushes guys well, and he does a good job of everybody being on the same page, understanding what the plan is that day, and everybody moving in the same direction. You always want that.”
Vrabel spent a significant part of his football upbringing under Belichick, playing for the future Hall of Famer for eight years. And even though his coaching path took him elsewhere, his versatile approach to the head coaching position looks quite similar — and differs significantly from his far-less experienced predecessor, Jerod Mayo.
Booth view
Terrell Williams was hired in January to overlook the Patriots’ defense, and he is doing so in a quite literal sense: the 51-year-old is not coaching the team from the sidelines during games, but from up in the booth. For Williams, there is a clear advantage to his position.
“I’ve been down on the field as an assistant most of my career; pretty much all of my career,” he said. “But you see it from a different perspective up top. So, I feel pretty good about being up there and seeing everything.”
Running back juice
Even though they have a promising young quarterback, the Patriots are likely to rely heavily on their ground game in 2025. The group they have looks like a promising one: Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson were joined by second-round draft pick TreVeyon Henderson this offseason.
For the veterans, this makes for a good mix.
“I like the juice we bring,” Gibson said in a joint presser with Stevenson earlier this week. “Everybody gets into the game, and they do something different. If you’re a competitor and you cheer for your teammate, it does nothing but turn you up when it’s your turn to get in.”
“I think we all just feed off each other.” Stevenson added. “We all bring something different to the table. And we all take little things from each other’s game.”
Simple playbook?
Josh McDaniels has coordinated some of the best offenses in NFL history, and along the way created a scheme that is notorious for being focused on details and nuances. This, in turn, can make it a challenging one to learn.
Just don’t tell wide receiver Kayshon Boutte.
“Josh’s playbook can be confusing, but you just really have to study in on the formations and the concepts,” the third-year pass catcher explained. “Everything else comes along with it — some we have been doing our whole lives. So, it’s kind of simple if you ask me.”
Boutte, a sixth-round draft pick in 2023, is on his third coordinator in as many seasons in the NFL — and his sixth in the last six years, going back to his career at LSU.
Jahlani Tavai update
Even though there were questions about his fit, the Patriots decided to retain veteran linebacker Jahlani Tavai through their coaching change this offseason. In fact, they even gave him significant time with the starting defense before a calf injury disrupted his momentum.
Tavai, who suffered the injury during OTAs in early June, has been sidelined ever since. And yet, he has remained actively involved with the team, according to his position coach.
“Great. Fully engaged,” Zak Kuhr said. “Great teammate. Helping other guys in the room. I love Jahlani in the meetings.”
As for the supposedly questionable scheme fit, both Kuhr and head coach Mike Vrabel praised his versaility.
“I think he’s a very versatile player,” said Kuhr. “We have a lot of guys like that. Versatility gets you a long way in the league in anybody’s career, so the more you can do, the longer you can stay whatever team it is in the NFL. But he’s a very versatile player.”
“There’s versatility to his game,” added Vrabel. “He’s a football player; he’s a defensive football player. He’s instinctive, he’s got good size, plays with his hands, can play multiple positions in the kicking game and just has to just get back and hopefully try to be evaluated here sooner rather than later.”
High standards up front
The Patriots offensive line has seen significant turnover this offseason, both on and off the field. Two of the key pieces in this process have been new position coach Doug Marrone and first-round draft pick Will Campbell.
Earlier this week, the latter spoke about the former and the tone he and his staff are setting.
“It’s been great,” Campbell said. “He’s been around a long time. He’s got a lot of knowledge for the game. He coaches us hard. He expects the best of us, and that standard will never dip. The same goes for [Jason Houghtaling] and [Robert Kugler] in our room, too. They hold us to a high standard, coach us hard, push us hard, because they want the best of us.”
Cap space credit
The Patriots recently earned some cap space. According to a report by salary cap expert Miguel Benzan, the team received a $325,333 as a result of a grievance filed by former offensive tackle Tyrone Wheatley Jr. The team initially was charged that amount, which suggests that the grievance ended in a positive fashion for New England.
Setting up the week ahead
A big week lies ahead for the Patriots. Roster cuts await as does the formation of the first practice squad; needless to say, a lot will be going on between now and next Sunday. Let’s break it down
Monday, Aug. 25: Mike Vrabel presser (1:45 p.m. ET), practice (2 p.m. ET)
Tuesday, Aug. 26: NFL cutdown deadline (4 p.m. ET)
Wednesday, Aug. 27: Waiver claim deadline (12 p.m. ET), practice squad creation (ca. 1 p.m. ET), Mike Vrabel presser (1:30 p.m. ET), practice (2 p.m. ET)
Thursday, Aug. 28: Practice (11:30 a.m. ET)
Friday, Aug. 29 — Sunday, Aug. 31: No media availability
“I think the next 10 days will be very fluid,” said Mike Vrabel. “There will be players that will come onto our roster, maybe from other teams, maybe there won’t. We’ll have to get down to 53 and then eventually a practice squad and the mix of practice squad players, of veterans and young players that may develop, or ones that you know we could activate.”
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