Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Reason and Rosters: New England Patriots set 53-man roster, practice squad for 2021 — 9/2/2021

Episode Date: September 2, 2021

The New England Patriots have set their 53-man roster, and most of their practice squad, for 2021. While some moves were exciting, others were questionable. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Steve Balestrieri of PatsFans.com. The duo discuss the Mac Jones/Cam Newton debate, the Pats 53-man roster, their practice squad and New England’s future prospectus.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.NorthOneWith NorthOne, you’ll never pay overdraft or NSF fees again, saving you hundreds of dollars per month. To get started, visit apply.northone.com/locked.RunYourPoolCheck ‘em out TODAY and get $10 off at RunYourPool.com and use promo code LockedOn at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. You are now locked into the Lockdown Patriots podcast. It is Thursday, September 2nd, 2021, and it is time for a visit from our resident voice of reason here on your daily home for news, notes, and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. Today's episode of Locked On Patriots is brought to you by Run Your Pool.

Check them out today and get $10 off at runyourpool.com slash locked on, or use our promo code locked on at checkout. Greetings and Thursday salutations, Patriots Nation, and thank you for joining me here on this penultimate episode of the Locked On Patriots Podcast for this week. My name is Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriot Maven of Sports Illustrated. I am also your host of the Locked On Patriots Podcast, which of course is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

And folks, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcomed and very much appreciated. So share that feedback. Send it to the internet by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there doing some Thursday traveling through the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, your New England Patriots once again hit the practice fields. The final time they'll do so before the Labor Day weekend,

and the Patriots have rounded out their practice squad in the process. 15 of the 16 available slots are now filled. As the Patriots continue their march toward the 2021 season opener, Sunday, September 12th, 425 p.m. Eastern at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the Patriots welcome old friend Brian Flores and the Miami Dolphins. And as the Pats continue to make preparations for that all-important season opener, all of us here in Patriots fandom continue to discuss the story of the week. Mac Jones being installed as the 2021 starter,

and he'll do so right off the bat in New England. A story of this type requires all different kinds of perspectives, and today here on Locked On Patriots, we'll take a reasonable approach, because my guest here on the pod is our resident voice of reason. My Patriots Paisan Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com joins me here today and we will discuss the Patriots decision to go with Mac Jones over incumbent Cam Newton. We'll also get Steve's thoughts on the rest of the 53-man roster and how the Patriots filled it out. We'll talk a little practice squad and we'll actually start to turn our sharp eye toward

the Miami Dolphins in the season opener on Sunday, September 12th, and get Steve's thoughts on how this team is situated to compete in this division and in this conference now that we know that Mac Jones will be the main man under center as the Patriots march toward the 2021 season. Folks, an action-packed agenda, a lot to get to, so without much further ado, I welcome in my Patriots Paisan, Steve Valistrieri, when this Thursday episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Locked On listeners, football season is back.

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Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. RockAuto.com Patriots fans, another brief hiccup in the schedule here on Locked On Patriots this week. The Pats, with roster cutdowns and a major announcement on Tuesday, did throw things into a tailspin. But that means that we get a Thursday visit now from our resident voice of reason to lend his wisdom and counsel here on Locked On Patriots.

One of the best, most knowledgeable columnists that you can find anywhere in football media, especially in the Patriots realm. You know his great work from Patsfans.com, as well as being the co-host of amazing podcasts, Patriots 4th and 2, and One Patriots Place. He is my Patriots bison, and more than worthy and then some of every bit of praise he gets. Steve Balistrieri joins me here today. Welcome back to Locked On Patriots, my friend. Hey, thanks for having me, Mike. As always, it's a pleasure, and I look forward to our talks every week.

And, you know, like it always is in Foxborough, there's never nothing to talk about. It's amazing, isn't it? So boring. It really, really is. I had Phil Perry onry on yesterday and you know he just he says so what are we going to talk about today there really there's nothing that we can we get a dredge up material just to fill you know a few minutes here on the pod uh folks please we digress there's tons to talk about in foxborough and we're going to continue to do that but steve

we did miss you on the airwaves here the last couple of weeks. Glad to have you back, bud. And we're slowly getting back to business in Foxborough. Training camp wrapping up. Patriots setting their 53-man roster, assembling a practice squad. But let's begin with the big story of the week. And it really is going to continue to be the big story here until the Patriots finally turn their attention to Miami. And that's the Pats decision to cut loose Cam Newton and move on with Mac Jones as the quarterback. Steve, before we get to the long-term implications of this move, which we'll get to in a little bit, walk us through your reaction, first of all, to the news. And ultimately, why do you believe this was the move to make now? Or are the Patriots reaching here by giving the keys to the kingdom to a rookie quarterback, especially in week one? Well, I was very surprised by this because after the game on Sunday night, I was like, well, if there was any doubt that the starter was going to be Cam Newton, I think that was a race because

they didn't put, you know, Mac Jones in until they removed all of the starters. I figured if Mac, you know, got some series with the starters, then you'd think, okay, well, they're still kind of hashing it out. But, you know, when he came in with basically the whole second team, I myself thought, okay, this one's written. You know, Cam's going to at least start week one, and then we'll see what happens, you know, when the games are for real. So I was really surprised by that.

But, you know, in the same token, to your second point, you know, I was a little concerned. I've been open about this the entire time. You know, I think starting a rookie quarterback can have implications for his confidence if he struggles. And, you know, I wrote about it earlier last week where I said, you know, Bill Belichick knows better than anyone how rookie quarterbacks can struggle. He's made a career out of making rookie quarterbacks lives miserable. And he knows other defensive coordinators can do that too. But obviously they feel like he's progressed enough of talking about Mac Jones that he's going to be able to handle it

all so you know I'm I'm a little cautious about it but I'm also very excited to see how he does yeah I think that's a good point I think in a lot of ways it would be naive of Patriots Nation not to be a little reticent to say you're starting a rookie quarterback right off the bat there's going to be rookie growing pains there's going to be mistakes made and because it's inevitable you have to wonder how he's going to handle that adversity whether it be through scrutiny from the media whether it be from scrutiny from the fans or whether it just be his teammates and his coaches getting on him for that it's going to be interesting to see if Mack Jones has the maturity and the poise to be able to handle that. I can tell you from personal experience, having watched

this kid in training camp, he does exhibit a poise and a command of this offense beyond his years. You see it every single time he makes an errant throw, or there's a problem with a wide receiver either running the incorrect route or maybe Mack incorrectly reading the play he goes right over to the player he goes right over to Josh McDaniels he's right there in the huddle making sure that he doesn't make the same mistake twice and we heard Bill Belichick say this we heard Josh McDaniels say this yesterday reiterating and maybe expounding a little bit upon what Bill had to say yesterday morning. But essentially, Mac Jones does things the way the Patriots like to have them done.

And I think in a lot of ways, they're probably looking at that and saying, this could be the kid. This is going to be the kid. Why prolong the inevitable? And ultimately, it brings it back to with Cam Newton. You don't want someone with Cam Newton's prowess and his resume kind of standing behind Mac Jones, breathing over his neck. Not that Cam would do that. That's not his makeup. That's not who he is. But at the same time, that specter can barely loom large over a rookie quarterback if he

knows that someone with Cam Newton's resume, former NFL MVP, someone who's led his team to the Super Bowl, is ominously there, kind of waiting to take your job, it can put a lot of difficult pressure. So the Patriots have dug into the Mac Jones era. It's about to begin. And Steve, we're all going to be along for the ride. And we'll get to what this may mean for the Patriots, even in the opening game coming up on September 12th in just a minute. But Steve, Mac and Cam were not the only story in Foxborough this week.

There were other stories that came out, and the Patriots obviously set their 53-man roster. When you look at this roster, Steve, from top to bottom, first of all, were there any surprises on this roster that you take a look at and you say, wow, you know, this guy made the team. I really didn't see it coming uh were there some that you were glad to see make it and do you think the Patriots may have made any mistakes by letting go of some of the players uh that they chose to the jettison when they cut this roster down to the required 53 well you know I thought uh the kicker position was a bit of a surprise. You know, we were very high on Quinn Nordeen earlier in training camp,

and then he had that nightmarish game two against the Eagles, and we all kind of thought that that was going to be it for him, that they were going to go with Nick Folk as soon as he was healthy. And, you know, Folk came back there in the week against the Giants, and I really expected them to stick with Folk and try to bring Nordean back on the practice squad. But I thought that was a surprise, and I was slightly surprised that they held on to Brandon King

because they have so many, you know, talented special teams guys, and King hadn't played in two years. And I thought, you know, where you have some other positions where you might want to try to keep another guy, I thought he would have been on the bubble. And apparently he seems pretty solid because they let Harvey Lange go and they said they're planning on bringing him back, but he was the guy that they cut first and not King. Yeah, very surprising about Brandon King. I can definitely understand your point of view on that. Look, I did three roster predictions

going into this season and I left King off all three of them. So it goes to show you what I know, folks. I had, I had longy on a couple of them, but look, bottom line when it comes to the prowess of Brandon King on special teams, if anybody was doubting this folks do not doubt it any longer. Bill Belichick has a strong value on Brandon King and look, I'd be the first to argue, you know, you know, I, I would definitely not argue against it, is I think the best way to put it, because Brandon is someone that does bring intangibles that

are not seen on the field every single day. They're not seen maybe on the practice fields all the time, but they're visible in the locker room. They're visible to the coaching staff. They're visible to obviously Bill Belichick, Cam Atchard, all these teams that, you know, all these coaches that are able to detect what he brings to the table. So obviously there's a reason for him being there. He's very, very good at what he does. And Brandon can play situational linebacker. People seem to forget that. He can also fill in at safety as well. So there's a lot of versatility to me. That's what struck me about Bill Belichick's assembly of this 53 man roster this time around went with some youth where he hasn't gone on with youth in the past. You mentioned Quinn Nordine coming in and being a part of that.

There were some, you know, some players on this team that, that he's going with that I think, you know, spell some, some, you know, good omens for the Patriots, obviously Justin Heron, Yanni Kajust being on this team as well. You know, the young offensive lineman that can really add some pretty key depth along that offensive line, which I think is going to continue to be a strong suit for this team, but also valuing versatility. And you look at these players up and down, whether it be the

linebacking core, the defensive backfield, running backs, they all complement each other well. All of these guys can play multiple positions and plug into multiple roles. And ultimately, that's how you succeed here in Foxborough. And that's what I see when I look at this 53-man roster. Steve, always a blast, always a lot of fun when we come here on the microphone and we get a chance to talk about Patriots football. But folks, we are not done just yet because the Patriots didn't just assemble a 53-man roster in the last couple of days. They've also put together a pretty impressive practice squad. Steve and I will talk a little bit about some of the additions to the practice squad and who might have our sharp eye as potential roster call-ups during the regular

season. Last but certainly not least, we will start to turn our attention toward the Miami Dolphins in the beginning of the 2021 regular season. What exactly is the outlook for this team now that we know it will be Mack Jones leading them under center? Steve Balistrieri will answer these questions and more when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Locked On listeners, it is that time of year again. All eyes are now turning to football as teams are back on the gridiron to start the football season. As always, BetOnline is your number one spot for all the pro and college football action this season. As always, BetOnline is your number one spot for all the pro and college football action this season. Get all the updated

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Bet online, your online sportsbook experts. Patriots fan Steve Balistrieri joins me here on the hot seat today on Locked On Patriots. And Steve, in the previous segment, obviously we talked a lot about Mac Jones and Cam Newton, the big decision that continues to send shockwaves through New England. We also talked a little bit about the 53-man roster and assembling some of the versatile players that the Patriots love to employ. But one thing that struck me as being a little bit surprising yesterday, pleasantly surprising, was the fact that a lot of the players, in fact, all of the players that the Patriots placed on waivers did not get claimed

by any of the 31 other NFL teams, which means that they were able to assemble the practice squad that maybe they had hoped to assemble all season long or all camp long, I guess is the best way for me to put it. Some impressive names, some familiar names on this list. Veterans like Matt Lacoste, Nick Folt coming back in, D'Angelo Ross, Miles Bryant. I'm just naming a couple. These are some of the more impressive camps that were had that really parlayed them well into signing with the practice squad. Patriots also going outside the organization for a couple of different signings. Jelani Tavai coming in as a linebacker and also Ben Mason, the fullback. Steve, when you look at the practice squad now and the job the Patriots did of assembling this talent, what were the moves that were a little bit

surprising? Who were you surprised to see make it to the practice squad? And are there a couple of diamonds in the rough here that could end up seeing significant time on the Patriots 53-man roster, either through injury or through just call-ups and having these guys earn a spot. Well, I don't believe there was any huge surprises that they signed. I mean, we knew they were going to try to bring back a lot of the guys that they cut. I was glad they were able to do that. A couple of guys that stand out to me that I think could see some time

on the roster, and this first guy will depend on how quick he can pick up the system. That's Garrett Gilbert, the quarterback. He's been well-traveled, but he spent time with the Patriots on their practice squad back in 2014. And, you know, I think we're probably week one, we'll probably see Brian Hoyer on the roster because he's so familiar with the system and, you know, he can be a voice in the ear of Mac Jones when he comes off the field. But I wouldn't be surprised to see Gilbert get some playing time.

The other guy is Ben Mason that you just mentioned. He's a fullback. He's a pretty good player. I really liked him, you know, when the Ravens picked him up. So he's another guy that, you know, we could possibly see during the year. And I think, you know, bringing back Matt Lacoste, I thought they should have probably kept four tight ends. Now they'll have that option of bringing Lacoste back because, you know, Hunter Henry we know is still banged up. So, you know, if somebody gets injured during the season,

they're definitely going to need Lacoste. This will be his, what, third year in the system. So I thought he had a really good summer i expected him to actually make the roster i thought they would keep four and i thought lacoste would be that guy so those are the kind of uh the couple of guys that i think will see some time on the active roster this year yeah i agree with you on lacoste i think he was having a solid camp and he's kind of a dual threat tight end that i don't think gets enough credit for the prowess that he has. He's a very good pass catcher. He's a very good blocker and he through no fault alone hurt his causes of having, you know, his ability to earn a 53-man roster spot. And look, the Patriots are so deep at so many positions, it just made it almost impossible for Bill Belichick to try to find spots for all these guys.

So a lot of creative roster maneuvering going on in Foxborough, but they did it very well. So I agree with you on Lacoste. If they're going to run those 12-man personnel, which you know the Patriots want to do, they need capable tight ends to do it. And if there is any type of injury issues with either Hunter Henry or even John O'Smith or Devin Asiassi, it's nice to know that you've got Matt Lacoste waiting in the wings being there as well. And I know it made our good friend Claire happy. So she was happy to see him back in the fold. Anytime you can add tight endage to this roster, she loves it.

Ben Mason could be one to watch. He really could. Ben right now, I mean, a hometown guy. He played his high school in Newtown, Connecticut. He's really only 22 years old, coming in with a lot of pedigree. Fifth round draft pick by the Ravens in 2021. But he had some depth to this fullback position, both as a goal line carrier and even a very capable blocker. He did that very well at Michigan. So you look at what he can bring to the table. You have to

wonder what it means for Jakob Johnson. I still think Jakob's job is safe for this year, but Mason may be one of those guys they wanted to have here that can be their full back of the future, reminiscent of what James Devlin brought to the table. So keep a sharp eye on this kid. I've got a lot of high hopes for Ben Mason. I was happy to see that the Patriots picked him up yesterday as well. And speaking of the future, Steve, that leads me quite nicely into my final question for you today, my friend. And speaking of the future, Steve, that leads me quite nicely into my final question for you today, my friend. And we are a little over a week away from the Patriots' season opener Sunday, September 12th against the Miami Dolphins in Foxborough at Gillette Stadium. And right now there is a buzz surrounding the New England Patriots, obviously with Mac Jones now entrenched as the starter of this team.

There seems to be an aura of, I don't want to say invincibility because that's really the wrong choice of word here, but there seems to be an aura around this team that the sky is the limit and there is not much of a ceiling for the New England Patriots that they can really contend not just in the division but also contend in the conference I think a lot of that is excitement about Mack and what he can bring to the table as the quarterback but you and I talked about this in the previous segment when you give the keys to the kingdom to a rookie quarterback there are going to be growing pains And he's going to face a tough test right off the bat against a Brian Flores-led defense in the Miami Dolphins that, last I checked, had a very good defense in this league. Steve, when you look at the long-term implications, now that you see Mack as the starter and taking under account all of the other roster moves that the Patriots made, what do you believe is the ceiling for this team in 2021?

Yeah, I think it's all going to depend on Mac Jones now. I think they've made enough additions to this football team that, you know, and we talked about it. You know, earlier in the spring and summer, we said, well, this team will go as far as at the time we thought Cam Newton, as far as Cam can take them. You know, the defense looks really, really good. And I believe that, you know, I'm still,

I still have some questions at cornerback, obviously, until Stephon Gilmore gets back. But the pass rush looks to be really, really strong this year. And, you know, with Josh Uche, Matthew Judon, Kyle Van Noy, Itower, Winovich, I mean, the list goes on and on. They can hit you from a multiple different scenarios. So I'm looking for the defense to be top 10, possibly top five this year. So that takes a lot of pressure off a rookie quarterback, plus the fact that you have the running game.

And I think that no scenario is too big for this kid right now. I'm really confident in his ability. We'll just have to see if he can learn on the job and make the plays when they're there for him on the field. And, you know, we'll see how far he can take them. But I think this is going to be a very exciting time. We've been talking about this since Tom Brady left. You know, eventually they had to find the next franchise quarterback,

and they believe he's going to be it. And he fits everything that they like to do. You know, we talked about this a long time ago. You know, when they first signed Cam, nothing against him, but, you know, his strengths as a quarterback didn't really jive with what the Patriots like to do on offense, which is like a timing-based offense and getting the ball out quickly and accurately.

And those are all the things that Jones does really well. So I'm really excited to see the start of the season. He has a big test against Miami on the 12th, but, you know, we'll see how it is. At least they're at home on week one. Absolutely. That is a good thing. If you're going to start a rookie quarterback right off the bat in a season in which your team is expected to contend,

and look, the moves that the Patriots made in this offseason clearly shows they're going for it. They're not looking for the future. They are looking for the future, and the moves that they made were very savvy in terms of taking that all under account. This is not a team that's looking to go all in for one year and then say to hell with the consequences the following year. They look to want to be in contention for a number of years, and they're building that. But at the same time, they're also not completely looking toward the future. They're looking toward the present as well. And having a rookie quarterback start at home is definitely much better than starting one on the road. That game against the Tampa Bay

Buccaneers, the defending Super Bowl champions in early October, just got a whole lot more interesting with Mack Jones, the new guy in town coming in and facing the man who was the man up here in New England for 20 years. And in a way, Foxborough is kind of always going to be his town. Gillette's going to kind of always be his house. So it'll be interesting to see the changing of the guard take place on that

day. But the Pats, I think are well-suited to be able to contend, not just because of Mac and the, the ability that he brings to the table, but Steve, I'm so impressed by the defensive upgrades that this team has made, especially in the front seven. I know they're a little bit thin at outside corner and in the, the, the defensive backfield right now without Stefan Gilmore, but Devon Godchild Lawrence guy, Dietrich wise, Henry Anderson,

Christian Barmore, Carl Davis, that front, that defensive front is going to make things so much easier for them to set the edge and to stop the run to things. They had so many difficulties with in 2020. And then you add in the edge and to stop the run, two things they had so many difficulties with in 2020. And then you add in the linebackers to the mix, and what an impressive group that is between Dante Hightower and Matthew Judon, Kyle Van Noy, Josh Uche looks like he's ready to take that next step this year. You got Winovich, you got Ronnie Perkins as a rookie, Juwan Bentley, Harvey Longhi, I'm assuming they're going to re-sign him. So a lot of depth and a lot of prowess there.

To me, that's where the Patriots are going to win games, stopping teams from getting into the end zone. And I think they've got a great defense to help them do it. And this could be a very, very good defensive front for the New England Patriots in 2021. Buddy, what can I say? I always thank you for taking the time out to join me here on Locked On Patriots for the benefit of our new listeners and we continue to add new listeners each and every day here on the pod

and I thank you so much for that folks for listening Steve, please let our listeners know where they can find you, your great work and what we can look forward to in the coming days and weeks from the great Penn and the great voice of Steve Balistrieri. Well, you know, you can find me on Twitter at SteveB7SFG. I write for PatsFans.com. I do two podcasts, one for Pats fans, Patriots 4th and 2 with Russ Goldman and Derek Havens. I also do the one with our mutual buddy there, Mr. Murphy, and classy Claire Cooper, which is always a fun time. Derek Havens. I also do the one with our mutual buddy there, Mr. Murphy,

and classy Claire Cooper, which is always a fun time. I missed out on this week's because I'm a little under the weather, but hey, stuff like that can happen. But, you know, we're going to be looking at this roster and the practice squad coming up, and we're going to see how all the pieces fit. You know, we talked about it a little bit already, but, you know, I still think there's some moves that are going to happen, and they're going to tweak the roster a little bit. You know, as we all know, the roster on the 1st of September

isn't what we'll see around Thanksgiving. And then after that, we start diving into the preseason and start preparing, you know, matchups against the Miami Dolphins. And isn't that fun to say? Absolutely. Gotta love it. That regular season football is just a bit over a week away, folks. And we'll continue to bring you the very latest here on Locked On Patriots.

And one of the great things about our weekly schedule here is this man is included, and we look forward to talking ball with you again next week, buddy. Please continue to stay safe, stay well, feel better. We understand you have been a little under the weather. Always wish you the best and always wish you well. But it's always an honor to talk ball with you, my friend, and can't wait to do it again next week.

Right. Patriots fans, we are almost through your work week here on the pod, but not before a very special guest is scheduled to stop by Locked On Patriots to help close out the week in style. Someone whose opinions on the Cam Newton-Mac Jones situation have been clearly defined. I'm not going to tip my hand, but let's just say it's a Friday, and if you listened to Locked On Patriots in the past, you might know who might be joining me tomorrow.

To ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action, download, subscribe to, and follow the Locked On Patriots podcast on platforms such as Spotify, the Odyssey app, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. Just make sure that you are staying locked in to Locked on Patriots. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank my good friend Steve Balistrieri for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's pod.

But most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for continuing to make Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until tomorrow, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.