Patriots Beginning Roster Evaluation As Preseason Opener Vs. Saints Nears

FOXBORO, Mass. — Nine days into training camp, the New England Patriots still have yet to make a single roster cut or addition.

Don’t expect that trend to continue for long.

With the New Orleans Saints set to visit Gillette Stadium this week for two joint practices and a preseason game, the time for player evaluation has arrived.

“Most of the installation we’ve put in we’ve already covered in the spring,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said before Sunday’s training camp practice. “It’s not new installation. The execution of it in pads is obviously new, but we’re getting into the numbers on that now. We’re playing against an opponent in two practices and then we have a game Thursday night. It’s time to start evaluating. We can’t keep pushing it back.

“At some point, we’ve got to make some decisions and see where things are. I think we’ve given everybody a pretty good chance to learn what to do, to have an opportunity to rep it. Now we’re getting into some competitive situations with us, but then against these other teams, there will be not just the game, but other practice opportunities, as well, to evaluate. Those will all be valuable. We’ll just see how it goes.”

While teams are not required to finalize their 53-man rosters until after their fourth and final preseason game, it’s uncommon to see one completely unchanged this deep into camp. Belichick views this kind of prolonged continuity as a great boon to his team’s preparation.

“This year has been exceptionally good that way so far,” the coach said. “Hopefully it continues, but that’s how you make progress is working with the same players day after day so they can actually go out there and get better, but when you lose players and have to put them on injured reserve, whatever the circumstances are, you have to make changes then you bring them in, (and) you start from scratch.

“It’s not the ideal way to do it, that’s for sure, but sometimes that’s what you’re forced to do. It’s a good observation. It’s been a good thing about this camp, that we haven’t had that (roster turnover). We still have a number of guys that aren’t practicing, but at least we’re not switching bodies every other day.”

Several Patriots players have dealt with injuries this summer, including some who are recovering from surgery (Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Dion Lewis) and others who’ve gotten banged up during training camp (Chris Hogan, Bryan Stork, Jonathan Cooper, Donald Brown, Nate Washington).

Edelman practiced in pads Sunday for the first time since camp opened, though he did not participate in the team’s intrasquad scrimmage.

Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images