#new-england-patriots

#new-england-patriots

New England is without starter Rhamondre Stevenson (toe) for Week 9, and though that could mean more work for rookieTreVeyon Henderson, the Pats haven't yet shown they trust Henderson with between-the-tackles work and are looking for a veteran to add depth even if Stevenson's absence is short term. (If it's long term, expect the Patriots to get aggressive in trying to add a running back.)

The New England Patriots' Mike Vrabel undertook a major roster rebuild in the 2025 offseason. One position he addressed was the edge on defense. He signed free agents Harold Landry III, who has performed as expected, and also K'Lavon Chaisson, who has exceeded expectations after nine games and is headed for a career season with 5.5 sacks already. Chaisson's previous high had been five sacks in 2024.

The New England Patriots snuck by the Atlanta Falcons by the proverbial "skin of their teeth", 24-23 after a missed extra point by the Falcons. A lot went wrong, including two unusual gaffes by the soaring Drake Maye, but one aspect loomed particularly large for the listless Patriots' defense. They can't get sacks when they need them, and they have to remedy that now. The Patriots were out-sacked six to one by the Falcons in this tale of two halves.

Over the first eight games of the season, the Patriots have dealt with more than their fair share of questionable calls by NFL officials, as they have had the most flag-happy crews on hand for more than one of their games. It has made life difficult in more ways than one, like stripping away an impressive touchdown by DeMario Douglas against the Saints, which hasn't helped their early struggles with avoidable penalties.

Considering he hasn't had a good season and fell down the depth chart throughout the summer, it's almost shocking to see any team willing to give up even late-round draft capital to acquire him. But given the losses the 49ers have dealt with, like Fred Warner, it's not entirely surprising that they were interested in providing White a fresh start. The Patriots make their first big trade ahead of the 2025 NFL deadline

New England Patriots McCourty will call a Patriots game for the third time in the regular season on Sunday after calling two of their preseason games. It's hard to imagine that there's a national broadcaster who has a better handle on the Patriots' stunning improvement this season than Jason McCourty. The former Patriots defensive back not only joined his twin brother, Devin, and Scott Zolak as part of Channel 4's preseason broadcasts, but this week's matchup with the Falcons will be the third time he has seen the Patriots this regular season as part of CBS's No. 4 broadcast crew.

Running back could very well be one of them. Antonio Gibson is already out for the season with a knee injury, and Rhamondre Stevenson is now dealing with a toe issue. Mike Vrabel and company can ill afford any more injuries in that room, especially given how inconsistent the run game has been throughout the first half of the season.

Jakobi Meyers, who started his career in New England before leaving for the Raiders in free agency, is a name to watch out for. Bleacher Report listed him going back to the Patriots in a trade as one of their pre-deadline bold predictions. The Raiders are going nowhere, and Meyers is in a contract year, so the fact that he could be shopped to a contender like the Patriots makes sense.

Even with the emergence of Kayshon Boutte and the offseason addition of Stefon Diggs, there's no such thing as too many weapons for Drake Maye. Diggs turns 32 in November, and with how quickly offenses evolve in today's league, New England would be wise to keep an eye on the next wave of playmakers in the 2026 NFL Draft. Here are three prospects at wideout -- one for each day of the draft --

When the Patriots announced their inactive list ahead of their Week 8 game against the Browns, a few things stood out. The biggest surprise was the decision to bench Keion White for the first time in his career, even if his performance this season certainly warranted it. The other was Kyle Dugger being sidelined, allowing Jaylinn Hawkins to play in his place once again.

In fact, Moore and Co. are currently leading the league in penalizing teams the most through the first seven weeks of the season, averaging 21.9 flags per game. The Patriots experienced that when the same officials were presiding over their game against the Dolphins earlier this year, when they threw 28 flags, 22 of which were accepted, with the Patriots taking 12 for a loss of 75 yards.

The New England Patriots took down the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, moving to 5-2 on the year. The offense was electric, scoring 24 points in the first three quarters, while the defense held the Titans to 13 and notched their first touchdown as a unit this year. The player who made that touchdown happen was none other than K'Lavon Chaisson, Week 7's AFC Defensive Player of the Week.