We’re running a mailbag on Thursdays during the offseason. If you have questions on the Patriots, NFL, or want gripe about past answers, email cmason@masslive.com or tweet @bychrismason. Now let’s get to this week’s questions!
Why is Brian Hoyer back on the practice squad? I thought he was going to be Mac Jones’ backup after Cam Newton was cut? - Amy O.
Hoyer is going to be Jones’ backup. This is likely just a bit of clever roster manipulation.
Remember last season when the Patriots didn’t carry a kicker on their opening 53? That was because Bill Belchick knew he could elevate Nick Folk from the practice squad twice on game day, so in the interim he saved a roster spot for somebody else that would have been claimed on waivers.
Same concept here.
Hoyer is clearly fine with the role as Jones’ mentor, and the Patriots only have two quarterbacks active on gameday regardless. So when Week 1 rolls around, Hoyer is elevated and serves as the backup.
However, they’re going to have to add another arm at for September and that will be Garrett Gilbert, who is also reportedly landing on the practice squad. The journeyman has thrown passes for Carolina, Cleveland, and most recently, Dallas. With Jarrett Stidham ineligible to return until late October because he was placed on the PUP list, they’ll need Gilbert to manage the practice workload.
What’s a realistic goal for the team this season? - Jamie S.
Winning a playoff game.
The AFC is still loaded with talent, so a Super Bowl trip is a tough ask of a Patriots club that went 7-9 last year. The Bills also boast the deepest roster in the AFC East, so even a divisional title is going to be tough to come by.
But landing a Wild Card spot, winning a round, and then letting the chips fall where they may? That feels like a realistic goal for them to shoot for. And once they’re into the divisional round, they’re playing with house money.
Will Malcolm Perry be on the roster for Week 1? Or do you think they might bring up someone like Kristian Wilkerson or nobody at all? - @szn_jones
I think a lot depends on how quickly Perry can acclimate to a new offense.
He’s currently on the 53-man roster, so I’d put my money on him before Wilkerson, but there are certainly different learning curves when it comes to Josh McDaniels’ playbook. Some guys pick it up quickly. Others have a lengthy acclimation process.
Were you surprised by the Cam Newton news? - Elise R.
How could you not be?
Jones outplayed Newton this summer — he absolutely earned the starting job — but the veteran still got all the first-team reps. In the final preseason game, Jones didn’t take a single snap with the starting offensive line.
Belichick is notorious for playing things close to the vest, but this was next level.
Though Newton only called Gillette Stadium home for 14 months, he certainly made an impact on the people in the building, too.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for him as a player,” Josh McDaniels said on Tuesday morning. “A tremendous amount of respect for him as a human being, as a person. And he knows how I feel about him. And the time that we were able to spend together, I think he did everything he could that we asked him to do to try to help us win and help us prepare this year to improve. And for that I’m very grateful and appreciative of all the things he did, all the work he put in. You know and hopefully you build a relationship that will last well beyond football. And I believe that’s the case here.”
Related content:
Patriots 2021 practice squad tracker: Full list of players returning to New England on 16-man squad
N’Keal Harry injury: Patriots WR placed on injured reserve, ‘should be back in a few weeks’ (report)
Julian Edelman: ‘It didn’t surprise me’ that Bill Belichick went with Mac Jones over Cam Newton
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