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New England Patriots

Patriots Talk: Players That Have The Most To Prove

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Patriots Talk: Players That Have The Most To Prove

It is here. The final game of the preseason is tonight against the New York Giants. The Patriots now have to see who else can prove their worth and make the final cuts. With players like Julian Edelman falling to an ACL torn or Kony Ealy being traded, many roster spots are now left open. As of now, there are several players on the roster who still need to prove themselves to make the roster for the 2017 NFL season.

Austin Carr (Wide Receiver) - Arguably the most polarizing and most spoken name after hearing of Edelman’s injury is none other than Austin Carr. As of now, he has been a player that has done well in both training camp and in the preseason (especially his touchdown catch in the first preseason game against the Jaguars) Due to his ability to play in the slot that he was well-known for at Northwestern, he has been seen to make the fifth and final slot for the receiving position.With wide outs like Chris Hogan, Brandin Cooks, Danny Amendola and Matthew Slater (mainly special teams) likely making the four top spots at wide receiver, Carr could make a push for the fifth spot of players like Cody Hollister with a strong performance tonight.

Brandon Bolden (Running Back) - While Bolden has been a major special teams players, with the addition of Marquis Flowers from the Cincinnati Bengals, his butt is on the hot seat. He provides little as a running back and with the amount of depth the Patriots have especially with strong performances from Dion Lewis, D.J Foster, and Mike Gillislee, he will be one of the few special teams who likely won’t be able to validate their position. The current picture looks like the end for Bolden unless he gets on the practice squad if he clears waivers.

Cyrus Jones (Cornerback) - Oh boy, the one issue that seems to be a never ending concern is Mr. Cyrus Jones. Despite being the highest draft pick in the Patriots 2016 Draft, he has had severe difficulty adapting to the game. The player had these same issues at Alabama until his final year where he broke out. So far, Jones has shown little to no improvement as a defensive back and has been shown to be a liability as a punt/kick returner. He has mainly been competing with Eric Rowe for the slot corner back position, but Jones’ best chance of making the final 53 roster is his job as a special teamer. He has shown some improvement in that area, but there are many issues that still need work. Jones is the most likely of any on this list to make the final roster, but having a horrible game today would be the signal to sign his release papers.

Adam Butler (Defensive Tackle) - Possibly the biggest surprise to see on this list is Butler. The reason for why he is a major player is due to the lack of depth at defensive tackle. He has shown an ability to break through the defensive line and make a presence in the backfield, but long time players like Malcolm Brown and Alan Branch are the current starters at the position. The undrafted free agent out of Vanderbilt has been quite the surprise and considering how much depth is still at the position, he could make spot if he shows something against the Giants tonight.

Jacoby Brissett (Quarterback) - While the team has traditionally carried two quarterbacks on the roster, Brissett was added onto the roster when he was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Many have felt that Brissett despite being able to handle the quarterback position. He still has much to improve and with both veterans on the team at Quarterback, he is likely to be stashed onto injury reserve or be put onto practice squad once waivers are cleared.

Jacob Hollister (Tight End) - Hollister is an undrafted rookie free agent that has been on the hot spot for awhile now. His first preseason game where he had over 116 yards receiving had many thinking eh could be a third tight end behind Allen and Gronkowski. Even though Matt Lengal has been pushed to injury reserve, Hollister is now competing with James O’Shaughnessy for the final tight end spot. Without another strong showing with this final preseason game, he could very well be on the cutting block.

As of now, there is a lot of names that can be tossed around to make the final cuts but we can never be certain on everything, especially when it comes to Bill Belichick. The game will be starting tonight at 7:30 PM EST at Gillette Stadium.

Stephen is a Contributing Editor for Trifecta Sports Network and covers the New England Patriots and the NFL.

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Patriots Issue Final Week 1 Injury Report: Only One In Question

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Patriots

Patriots Issue Final Week 1 Injury Report: Only One In Question

On Wednesday afternoon the New England Patriots released the final Week 1 Injury report ahead of their season opener on Thursday.

For the team, this report shows almost a full bill of health for the 53-man roster. Only one Patriot is considered doubtful with the rest having a real shot to play. That one Patriots player is defensive tackle Vincent Valentine who hasn’t practiced all week due to a knee injury.

While Valentine is the only player who is listed as “unlikely to play”, there is a fairly large list of “questionable” for New England.

Questionable:

All of these players have had limited participation in practice on Tuesday and on Wednesday. For Monday’s session, only Fleming didn’t participate.

As a reminder, being listed as “Questionable” means “uncertain to whether the player will play”.

For the Patriots opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs, their injury report has two doubtful players and one questionable, but other than that, a clean bill of health for their other injury concerns.

Chiefs Injury Report:

Tight end Travis Kelce (Calf Injury) was on the injury report earlier this week with limited participation in practice on Monday and Tuesday, but he was a full participant in Wednesday’s sessions.

New England kicks off on Thursday at 8:30 pm.

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New England Patriots

Patriots Talk: Reports State Tom Brady Didn’t Have A Concussion in 2016

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Patriots Talk: Reports State Tom Brady Didn’t Have A Concussion in 2016

It seems that when it comes to Tom Brady and his personal life, he tries his best to keep it to a bar-minimum. Everybody remembers when Gisele Bundchen came out and stated that her husband had suffered a concussion without any protocol, last season but had no proof to back up her claims. Now, could this be a case of the wife being overly concerned for her spouse? Very possible. Its been on record, Gisele has wanted Tom to retire following his Super Bowl LI victory seven months ago.

However, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, made a statement on Wednesday, about a joint review that was conducted by both the NFL and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) and that the 40-year-old Brady allowed his medical records to be reviewed.

The statement is as follows:

“This review identified no evidence of any deviation from the protocol by the Patriots’ medical staff or the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultants assigned to Patriots games, or any indication that Mr. Brady sustained a concussion or reported signs or symptoms consistent with having sustained a concussion.”

With this statement, should we trust the NFL at their word? No, they have been shown a track record of not being up front with everything that they have done in the past. However, I will take their word of Gisele’s simply because a wife will always have concerns especially with the dangers of a game like American football.

However, Brady has been shown that he isn’t stopping now and likely won’t unless he and Bill feel like they submitted their places as the best Head Coach and Quarterback of all time. As of now, we are 24 hours away from the season opener at Gillette Stadium tomorrow night against the Kansas City Chiefs. Stay tuned in at 8:30 PM EST on NBC.

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Patriots Notes: Team Fairly Healthy, Not Concerned With Goodell Towels

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Patriots Notes: Team Fairly Healthy, Not Concerned With Goodell Towels

The New England Patriots take on the Kansas City Chiefs this Thursday for kick off the NFL season. With the team prepping for the game, the first few injury reports of the season have been released.

The injury report released has nothing major to look at. DT Vincent Valentine and OT Cameron Flemming were both DNP’s. But other than them, New England looks fairly healthy on their active roster.

With being the leagues opening game, the New England Patriots get the opportunity to unfold their Fifth Super Bowl banner in front of the entire nation. For tight end Rob Gronkowski, the atmosphere will be something special.

I mean, it’s going to be a super great atmosphere for the fans with the banner dropping down, just the atmosphere running out of the tunnel, probably fireworks going on everywhere, probably the Air Force planes flying across. I mean, for the fans, it’s going to be a great atmosphere and a great time.

Since the Patriots will be hosting a Super Bowl 51 pregame ceremony, they are asking fans with tickets to arrive early on Thursday. They are asking fans to be in their seats by 8 pm and will be opening gates at 6 pm and the parking lots at 3:30 pm.

With it being Thursday night game, fans will be arriving at Gillette Stadium during evening rush hour. For that reason, Gillette Stadium is asking fans to allow for extra travel time to and from the stadium.

One of the bigger storylines heading into the game against the Kansas City Chiefs is the fact that Barstool Sports plans on handing out 70,000 Roger Goodell Clown towels at the game. For the team, they aren’t concerned with this noise.

Yeah, I’m not really too concerned about all the exterior things with the game.” said coach Bill Belichick” Just trying to get ready for the Chiefs.

Patriots vs Chiefs kicks off at 8:30 pm on Thursday. Trifecta Sports Network will have you covered with the latest in New England Patriots news.

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