FOXBORO, Mass. — The final week of the NFL preseason provides roster hopefuls with one last chance to make their case for a spot on the 53-man roster. Devin Lucien and Austin Carr fully embraced their opportunities Thursday night.
Both New England Patriots wide receivers shined in the team’s preseason finale against the New York Giants at Gillette Stadium. Lucien paced the Patriots’ receiving corps in the team’s 40-38 loss, hauling in five receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. Carr also had a strong night, posting three catches for 48 yards and a score.
Lucien and Carr both understood the importance of Thursday’s game, and hope their bodies of work over the course of the preseason has grabbed the coaches’ attention.
“I though it went OK,” Lucien said of his performance. “It’s that time of the season where you start to figure out the reality of the situation. They push(ed) back the cut date, so you get kind of lost in everything thinking you’re going to be here the whole time, but you really don’t know. I hope I was able to put on a good performance in this last game.”
Carr was asked what he hopes the Patriots observed from him this preseason.
“I hope they see consistency,” he said. “I hope they see a guy that worked hard and a guy that executed and did his job and built trust with his teammates.”
The two wideouts are at vastly different stages in their respective careers. Lucien spent all of last season on New England’s practice squad after the team took him in the seventh round of the 2016 NFL Draft. And after spending a full year learning from the likes of Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and Malcolm Mitchell, the 24-year-old believes his game has improved.
“I was able to learn a lot,” Lucien said. “I played with Malcolm Michell, Julian Edelman, Danny. … I got to learn from them for a year, and that really helped my game. Going into this game, it started kind of slow for me, but Danny was always staring at me like, ‘Yo, just keep patient, everything is going to work out.’ Everything ended up working out.”
Carr, on the other hand, signed with the Patriots in May as a free agent after not being selected in this year’s draft. The Northwestern product admitted emotions will be running high during Saturday’s roster cut down, regardless of the outcome.
“Emotional no matter what,” Carr said. “There are going to be highs and lows. It almost feels like draft day all over again, where you don’t know where you’re going to end up. I know that I left it out there and I’m hoping for another shot.”
For Lucien, watching the Patriots march all the way to a Super Bowl title last season has served as a motivational tool. The Arizona State product not only wants to make the 53-man roster, but also wants to prove himself on the biggest stage.
“Being on a team for a whole year on the practice squad and then winning the Super Bowl — you see Tom Brady, and Julian Edelman make the catch like that, and Danny make the touchdown and Malcolm is making catches — all you want to do is be the next one up,” he said. “I hope I was able to show my case to the coaches on that.”
It likely still will be a steep climb for either wideout to make the roster, as the Patriots are loaded at the position. But Lucien and Carr both helped their cases in a major way Thursday night, which only will make the decision tougher on head coach Bill Belichick.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
