Eight Players To Watch In Patriots’ Preseason Matchup Vs. Eagles

The Patriots and Eagles met for a joint practice session Tuesday at Gillette Stadium, but that won’t be the last of the competition between the two clubs this week.

New England and Philadelphia will meet for an exhibition matchup Thursday when it is expected that Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye will get extended looks after their brief appearances against the Carolina Panthers.

We’ll have our eyes on Brissett and Maye, but they aren’t the only players who will be top of mind. Let’s discuss those who can continue making a roster push on Thursday, as well as a couple of players who might not be long for New England.

QB Drake Maye and QB Jacoby Brissett

Maye and Brissett will undoubtedly be the story, as each only played one series against Carolina.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said he planned on allowing each of them to see more snaps against Philly, but there’s still some ambiguity regarding how much they’ll play. Brissett will get the start and likely will run the top offense. Maye, on the other hand, could be stuck rolling with the second string yet again — a disastrous unit to this point in training camp.

K Chad Ryland

Ryland made this list last week, but he didn’t really see the field. The Patriots instead rolled with Joey Slye, who was perfect on his attempts.

If Ryland wants to keep his job, he might need a perfect night himself.

CB Christian Gonzalez

A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith will play Thursday. Gonzalez, just as he did during the joint session, will draw that assignment. Who doesn’t want to see that?

WR Ja’Lynn Polk

Polk was the best wide receiver in camp, but New England never seemed to be in much of a hurry when it came to running him with the top offense. Polk’s three catches against Carolina came on the receiving end of Bailey Zappe’s throws.

The Patriots can’t play him with Zappe on Thursday. It’s Brissett/Maye or bust.

OL Vederian Lowe

It’s been a tough pill to swallow for many, but Lowe is the starting left tackle. The Patriots have trotted him out there for a couple weeks now, and despite diminishing returns, it doesn’t appear as though they’re coming off their decision.

How will he look against the Eagles? We already know things didn’t look great at practice, so anything short of improvement might just be enough to raise (even more) questions at One Patriot Place.

S Brenden Schooler

Schooler plays defense now. Did you know that? Did you care? Will it be the case once real football starts? We don’t know, but don’t be surprised to see him on the field against the likes of Brown, Smith and Saquon Barkley on Thursday.

QB Bailey Zappe

Zappe shouldn’t be long for New England.

The Minnesota Vikings just lost rookie J.J. McCarthy for the season and just might need a backup QB. The Patriots should be calling, and if they already have, that might mean Minnesota is looking to get one last look at him in a game setting. If not, is it even worth playing him?