FOXBORO -- As the Patriots prepare for their third and final preseason game of the summer against the Titans, questions facing the team linger in its presence the way cigarette smoke dances around the front door of a Nashville honky tonk late on a Friday night.
Being the astute readers you are, you've included many of those questions in this week's Bag. Let's pick 'em apart, one by one.
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It's fair to be concerned, Harry. Now that Josh Jones has been dealt by the Cardinals to the Texans -- a pair of former Patriots execs getting together for that one with Monti Ossenfort in Arizona and Nick Caserio in Houston -- there don't appear to be obvious depth targets up front via trade. What they have at the moment looks like it'll be the group. And no one could blame you for wondering if that's enough.
Here's the good news: Mike Onwenu returned to practice on Wednesday. He's off the physically unable to perform list and eligible to play Week 1. He was limited and did not take part in team periods in his first practice of the summer. But getting him on the field about two-and-a-half weeks before seeing the Eagles at least gives him a chance to be part of the solution up front.
The bad news: Cole Strange is still out after having missed the vast majority of training camp. Furthermore, there remains uncertainty when it comes to the starter at right tackle.
Atonio Mafi has been the left guard in Strange's absence, and the fifth-round rookie out of UCLA appears to have had his ups and downs over the last couple of weeks. (He gave up some work to second-year guard Chasen Hines at Wednesday's practice.) At right tackle, fourth-round rookie Sidy Sow has been the answer of late, which has kicked free-agent addition Riley Reiff inside to guard. Reiff has never played guard in a regular-season game in his 11-year NFL career. Sow, meanwhile, hasn't played tackle since his freshman year at Eastern Michigan in 2018.
Not ideal.
With all the moving parts, it must be difficult to "see the game through the same set of eyes," as Dante Scarnecchia used to put it.
"I think that's a super important thing, right?" David Andrews said earlier this week. "It really starts with me, how I see it, because I kind of set the table. How you want guys to react when you call certain things, when you say things, what you want their reaction to be. When you say something, 'This is what my reaction is going to be to that, how I'm going to play.'
"I think the more you build that with guys and understand how you're playing around each other is a huge, huge thing. If you can all play together as one, you can be a pretty good unit no matter who's in there."
I asked Andrews if he and other starting linemen would need extensive reps with Onwenu and Strange to get to a point where they'd be ready to play together and see things the same way. Andrews indicated that they have enough experience together that, if those two can get healthy, it shouldn't take long before they're good to go.
"Coming back from different things, it's always tough a little bit," Andrews said. "But when you know what people expect out of you, what they're expecting from you, I think it's kind of easy to flow back into it."
If Strange and Onwenu can't be ready from the jump, and if two rookies are in the starting lineup when the games matter -- say it's Mafi at left guard and Sow at right tackle -- that may be limiting. Last season, as the Patriots worked to install a new offense and Matt Patricia pulled double duty as line coach and offensive coordinator, the team tried to move forward slowly with its communication in order to ensure that Strange was picking things up in his first year as a pro.
This year? It sounds like the approach has been different. It sounds like it's more similar to what Mac Jones dealt with as a rookie: Train is moving; better keep up.
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I asked Mac Jones if he has the freedom to utilize all the "tools" -- to change plays at the line, to communicate freely even with some inexperienced pieces protecting him -- he would like to have at his disposal at this point in the year.
"In the preseason, in the games and stuff, we're not really showing much so we're just trying to do the basic things right," Jones said. "But for the guys that come into the huddle when I'm in there, I'm doing whatever as if it was Trent (Brown), David, Riley and all those guys. I try not to tailor to anybody because I wasn't tailored to when I was a rookie. I think that's important. You just go in there, call the play, 'Hey, I'm going to check to this or alert to this.' They gotta know what to do and they've done a great job of that.
"There's going to be growing pains just like I had gone through with calling multiple plays (as a rookie). It's the NFL. Just for me and them, the young guys, just keep telling them they can do it. If they mess up once or twice, it's not a big deal, in my opinion. Just keep fighting. Keep trying to make plays and do your thing."
In a perfect world, the Patriots would have their veterans ready to go for Week 1. An inexperienced version of the line -- which included backup second-year tackle Andrew Stueber -- allowed two sacks in three possessions in preseason game No. 2, as well as multiple additional quarterback hits. Then in Wednesday's fully-padded practice, the line allowed at least six sacks of Jones on 25 pass plays.
That iteration of Jones' group of protectors may not even get the chance to show what they can do with Jones on Friday, as ESPN has reported the team is considering keeping Jones on the bench because it wants to keep him healthy for Week 1.
If that's the case, it's certainly within reason for fans to be concerned. Because it would tell you Bill Belichick is concerned as well.
Comfortable in the scheme, if not necessarily comfortable in the pocket.
The offensive line issues have been the source of some of Mac Jones' frustration, it appears, based on what we've been able to see in practice. But in Bill O'Brien's offense, he has answers. He understands where to go when he needs an outlet. He's confident in where his weapons will be when the time comes to pull the trigger or be "sacked."
I thought our pal JT O'Sullivan -- a quarterback in the NFL for a decade and a friend of the Next Pats podcast -- provided an excellent breakdown of Jones' performance in preseason game No. 2. He watched a lot of Jones' film from 2022. He understood the plan was lacking. And the word he used to describe watching Jones in a new system? "Refreshing."
Watching him in practice, Jones seems refreshed and confident. He's celebrating touchdowns at a much higher rate this summer when last summer these summer workouts often felt like two-hour slogs.
I don't think so, John. My sense is they were keen on finding out if he could be a change-of-pace weapon for them behind center. That's how he was being used in practice. Had that game in Green Bay gone longer, we might've seen him in that capacity.
Would be interesting to see him used in that fashion in Nashville. Could he impress to the point that he forces the Patriots to use a 53-man roster spot on him? This is his last chance to produce some impressive tape for the rest of the league. It's an audition of sorts for personnel departments across the league.
That would be entertaining, wouldn't it? We dug into this a bit more on Next Pats. My answer? Seems unlikely.
Marcus Jones simply hasn't seen time on the offensive side of the ball. That doesn't mean he won't when the regular-season begins. But it's hard to predict that we'll see a small-but-explosive duo of pass-catchers in Demario Douglas and Marcus Jones functioning together to put stress on defenses.
Plenty of reasons to think that would be a useful pairing. But, based on what we've seen this summer, can't say now it looks like it's in the plans.
I actually feel as though the defensive line is one of their deeper position groups, Mr. Excitement. Davon Godchaux, Lawrence Guy, Christian Barmore, Carl Davis and Daniel Ekuale are all NFL players. Deatrich Wise and Keion White can supplement that group in sub situations.
I have them keeping three tight ends on their roster to start the season: Hunter Henry, Mike Gesicki and Matt Sokol. It wouldn't stun me if the Patriots were on the lookout for a tight end to buttress this unit. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer suggested on Early Edition recently that they could trade for a tight end prior to cuts.
Christmas comes early every August when Bruce Feldman's Freaks List drops. All kinds of new names. Great opportunity to learn about guys in this upcoming draft class and future ones.
A receiver cut would surprise me. DeVante Parker and JuJu Smith-Schuster just got paid. Kendrick Bourne has been their best receiver late in the summer here. Tyquan Thornton is a second-round pick in his second year. Those are the vets. Unless you would consider receiver/running back Ty Montgomery to be a surprise release, I can't see any of these other guys getting let go.
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You have to keep in mind that there are real injury concerns with enough of these guys that if you just start cutting folks, that could decimate some all-important depth at the position. Could be a heavy group -- I have six on the 53 right now -- next week.
Guys like Cunningham, Sokol and special-teamer Calvin Munson could probably be released and then returned to the practice-squad -- then potentially added to the 53-man roster later -- after getting through waivers. That's a guess by me. But they seem to be on the roster bubble.
In Week 1 of preseason, it seemed to be because he got borderline-starter treatment. It was an indication of the hold he had on a roster spot. In Week 2, it might've been because of injury. He was dumped on his shoulder after his second catch of the night and he didn't return. He then missed the last two days of practice in Foxboro.
I do think there's a chance Thornton doesn't get to Week 1 without landing on a reserve list. All depends on how he's recovering from the injury he suffered in Green Bay.
As far as an outright release? The Duke Dawson example should always linger in our minds as someone getting let go prior to Year 2 after being taken with a second-round pick. So it's happened before. But I'd say it's highly unlikely.
You can't stash Thornton for later in the season unless he's kept on the initial 53-man roster. So the move would be -- if the team wants him to have time to heal but also wants him to be available later this year -- to keep him on the active roster for a day and then place him on injured reserve with the ability to return. If he was placed on injured reserve before cuts on Tuesday, he would be unavailable to play the rest of the season.
I think it'll be close for Onwenu. I'm not sure how Calvin Anderson could be ready after not practicing at all to this point in the summer. But we may have seen a good sign on that front Wednesday as Anderson watched practice in workout gear. Looks like he's ramping up his physical activity.
I'm going under on all three, though I like all three and their fits on this roster.
I think the odds are pretty good. I have both rookies on my latest 53.
Definitely. Listen to what Devin McCourty had to say about Bourne on the latest Patriots Talk.
Would Ty Montgomery qualify? Lawrence Guy is a possibility as well.
I'm not sure, to be honest, Laurence. Sam Roberts has been an impressive youngster up front. Good story. Late-round pick out of Northwest Missouri State. He's shown good quickness off the ball and enough power to be disruptive in run and pass situations. I think they'd like to keep him.
The question would be whether or not they think they can get him through waivers and onto the p-squad. Guy still has value to this team, as well. Leadership. Professionalism. Run-stuffing ability. That stuff matters, too. Maybe they find room for both. It's not exactly the kind of loaded roster that is very difficult to whittle down to 53 players.
No one. Not yet. That's because guys who would be in line to be a competent sixth have been in the starting lineup the last few weeks. The ideal Week 1 offensive line, in my opinion, would be Brown at left tackle, Strange at left guard, Andrews at center, Onwenu at right guard and Sow at right tackle.
I would go with Sow over Reiff because it's been a tough go for Reiff on the outside this summer. I think it's telling that he's been kicked inside the last couple weeks. If Sow can improve over time with more reps, I'd feel good about getting an average right tackle out of him by mid-season. That would be enough to make this offensive line -- when fully healthy -- a good one.