New England Patriots
Thursday’s game in Cleveland will mark the final chance for several Patriots players to try to escape the roster bubble before cutdown day on Sunday.
The Patriots’ preseason slate is coming to a close.
The New England Patriots will take part in their third and final preseason game on Thursday, as they take on the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field.
Kick-off is set for 8:00 p.m. You can watch the game on Amazon Prime Video and follow along on the radio at 98.5 The Sports Hub.
After 22 practices on the fields behind Gillette Stadium and two previous preseason bouts, Mike Vrabel will get the final look at his team ahead of roster cutdown day. NFL teams must cut their 90-man roster down to 53 players by 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Once again, Drake Maye and a majority of New England’s starters aren’t expected to play on Thursday — and the case can be made that many top backups also won’t earn significant snaps against Cleveland.
But with many players still on the roster bubble, this game will be the final opportunity for many depth players to stake their claim for a spot on the 53-man roster.
Who will stand out on Thursday? Follow along for live updates, and then check back after tonight’s game wraps for more coverage on Boston.com.
Maye, Patriots arrive in Cleveland
The Patriots have arrived at Huntington Bank Field — with stars Drake Maye and A.J. Brown not expected to play tonight. Both Maye and Brown are repping new Pro Football Hall of Famer Adam Vinatieri with their pregame attire.
You could see a lot of QB Behren Morton tonight, especially with the QB impressing down the stretch against the Eagles.
Patriots get good news on Henderson
Some good news from Chris Price of The Boston Globe, as it looks like TreVeyon Henderson has dodged a bullet and won’t miss any major time this season. He appeared to suffer an ankle/foot injury earlier this week after slipping on the practice fields next to the New Balance Athletics Center.
Don’t expect to see starters in Cleveland
Nothing official from New England yet, but Browns head coach Todd Monken revealed earlier this week that both the Patriots and Browns aren’t going to be playing their starters on Thursday.
“I talked to Coach (Mike) Vrabel, we had talked about initially wanting to play our starters and get them a series or two,” Monken said on Aug. 24. “They really hadn’t played their guys. But we both felt like we were thin, especially up front on both sides of the ball, and we just felt like we’d be better off not playing our starters in the game Thursday night.”
Drake Maye and the Patriots’ starters haven’t played in any of New England’s three preseason games so far this summer.
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