Pats Pulpit
Coming off a second straight 4-13 season, the New England Patriots decided to start over yet again. The biggest move in this process was, of course, hiring Mike Vrabel as head coach. In addition, the team also rebuilt a significant portion of its roster: of the 91 players currently on the Patriots’ active roster, almost half — 45 — arrived during the offseason as either draft picks, free agency signings or other pickups.
On Friday night against the Washington Commanders, they will get their first chance to put on a Patriots uniform in a game setting. It may “only” be a preseason game, but for the new members of the organization it will be a chance to showcase why they were brought aboard.
Let’s take a look at who those players are, and what to expect from them come Friday night.
QB Joshua Dobbs: Even if Drake Maye gets the start, the expectation is that backup quarterback Dobbs will play a significant portion of the first half on Friday. He might even play into the third and fourth quarters.
WR Stefon Diggs: Arguably the biggest name among the Patriots’ free agency signings this year, Diggs has been a top-two wide receiver all summer. He seems well on his way to overcoming the ACL tear that ended his 2024 season, but should not be expected to play deep into the game. If he sees the field, he likely will only play a handful of snaps together with Drake Maye.
WR Mack Hollins: Hollins missed the start of training camp on the physically unable to perform list, but has been actively involved with the offense since his return. Unless the team opts to play it quite conservatively, he should be expected to play a fair number of snaps regardless of quarterback.
TE Cole Fotheringham:**** Fotheringham joined the Patriots as an in-camp pickup. He will see playing time as one of several tight ends competing for spots behind starters Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper, and on special teams.
RT Morgan Moses: The Patriots have limited Moses’ workload all summer, and even held him out of their joint practice with the Commanders. If he sees the field, he should not be expected to play more than one or two series.
C Garrett Bradbury: The Patriots’ starting center struggled against the Commanders on Wednesday, and will want a chance to bounce back. He will likely get it, and might even end up playing more snaps than other current starters.
C Alec Lindstrom: On paper, Lindstrom is New England’s fourth-string center at the moment behind Garrett Bradbury, Ben Brown and Cole Strange. Depending on how the other three will be used on Friday, he will likely enter the game no sooner than the third quarter.
DT Milton Williams: Five months removed from signing his $104 million contract, Williams will not be a major factor in his debut. If he takes the field, it will only be for a handful of snaps early in...
