News Patriots Team Notes

Patriots links 10/29/25: Deals, trades, grades and more!

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TEAM TALK

  • Roster Moves: Signed: RB Rushawn Baker and RB Jonathan Ward to the practice Squad; RB Jashaun Corbin placed on practice squad Injured Reserve.
  • Evan Lazar analyzes the Patriots signing Marcus Jones to a long-term contract extension; Jones is one of the NFL’s best slot corners and punt returners, leading the NFL in punt return average this season.
  • Alexandra Francisco has the story of how after miraculous recovery, Mike Vrabel hosted a 15-year-old Patriots fan for an unforgettable weekend at Gillette Stadium.
  • Mic’d Up: Josh McDaniels vs. Cleveland Browns. (10 min. video)
  • Sights and Sounds: Week 8 vs. Browns. (3 min. video)
  • Vrabel’s X’s and O’s: Top plays from Week 8 vs. Browns. (4 min. video)
  • Highlights: Patriots secondary takes on the Factory of Terror. (6 min. video)
  • Patriots Unfiltered: Full breakdown of the Patriots 32-13 win; Plus, we talk about standout CB/PR Marcus Jones signing a long-term contract to remain in New England. (2 hours)

LOCAL LINKS

  • Mike Reiss reports CB Marcus Jones, who was set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season, has agreed to a contract extension. A source told ESPN that Jones agreed to a three-year, $36 million extension that runs through the 2028 season. /Good move.
  • Mike D’Abate reports New England has added some depth to their secondary heading into Week 9, signing rookie safety John Saunders off the Dolphins practice squad to the 53-man roster.
  • Mark Daniels and Karen Guregian report the Kyle Dugger era is over. Dugger went from a starter and mainstay in the Patriots defense to a backup in Mike Vrabel’s scheme.
  • Sara Marshall wasn’t surprised to see the DE Keion White being shipped off to the 49ers. White didn’t have a good camp, had fallen down the depth chart and was a healthy scratch last week.
  • Sara Marshall sees the Patriots’ drought of an offense without a 1,000-yard receiver looks to be nearing its end due to the rise of Kayshon Boutte this season.
  • Steve Balestrieri rips open a brand new bag of gold stars while grading his Patriots Week 8 Report Card. Extra recess for all except the special teamers for getting flagged and Bryce Barringer for shanking a punt.
  • Mark Morse cleans out his Patriots notebook: Week 8, plus trades and extensions. “This receiver room was criticized as being one of the worst in the league. Boy were those pundits wrong.” /True that.
  • Bob George gives us 21 NFL takeaways as the Patriots kept rolling in Week 8. 19. There is such a thing as a “sophomore slump”. It’s happening in Washington. It may also be happening in Chicago. It’s not happening in Foxborough.
  • Doug Kyed‘s Patriots mailbag: No. 1 position to address at NFL trade deadline
  • Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry hand out midseason awards and superlatives.
  • Mike D’Abate notes how Patriots players celebrated Halloween with pediatric cancer patients at Gillette Stadium. /Love this.
  • The Patriots Report podcast: Chris Price and Chris Hogan look back at the blowout of the Browns, and talk about the Falcons, the MVP chase, Halloween candy and more. (40 min.)

NATIONAL NEWS

  • Nick Wagoner and Mike Reiss (ESPN) Patriots trade Keion White to 49ers and Kyle Dugger to Steelers.
  • Seth Walder (ESPN) NFL trade grades: Kyle Dugger: Steelers B, Pats B. Keion White: 49ers A-, Pats C-.
  • Gilberto Manzano (SI) Pariots-Steelers trade grades: Kyle Dugger was viewed as a possible cut candidate after he was demoted to the second team during the preseason. Steelers: B-, Patriots: B.
  • Gilberto Manzano (SI) 49ers-Patriots trade grades: Keion White could help Mykel Williams break out. 49ers: C+, Patriots: B.
  • Ben Solak (ESPN) Why Drake Maye should be MVP, a defense of Caleb Williams, four trades that must happen.
  • Cody Benjamin (CBS Sports) Week 8 NFL QB Power Rankings: Patriots’ Drake Maye soars into top 10.
  • Steven Ruiz (The Ringer) Updated QB rankings. Drake Maye 9th. “Drake Maye is a star.”
  • Matt Verderame (SI) NFL All-Pro 2025 midseason picks and predictions. Punt returner Marcus Jones only Patriot included.
  • Diante Lee (The Ringer) 2025 NFL midseason All-Rookie Team: These are the first-year players who have made the biggest impact through the first half of the season. OT Will Campbell, Jared Wilson (honorable mention) included.
  • Frank Schwab (Yahoo! Sports) The 10 must-watch players and teams before the trade deadline. Patriots listed as a buyer.
  • Kevin Patra (NFL.com) Trade needs tracker: Top priority ahead of Nov. 4 deadline. Patriots: Pass Rush.
  • Gilberto Manzano (SI) Ranking the top 15 players available at the NFL trade deadline. No Pats.
  • Courtney Cronin (ESPN) Why some NFL QBs use play-sheet wristbands and others don’t. “A wristband doesn’t mean you can’t process the offense,” said Patriots backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs, a Tennessee aerospace engineering major nicknamed “the Passtronaut.” “[In] offenses that aren’t wordy, you don’t need it, but it’s a good backup to have.” /”the Passtronaut”??? LOL!!!
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Source: https://www.patspulpit.com/new-engl...riots-links-10-29-25-deals-trades-grades-more
 
Patriots players react to Kyle Dugger, Keion White trades

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Christian Gonzalez and Keion White arrived in New England as part of the same draft class, joining the Patriots as their first and second picks in 2023. But while both looked like potential long-term cornerstones for the organization up until last season, their paths started to diverge in 2025.

Despite dealing with a nagging hamstring injury over the summer, Gonzalez remained the Patriots’ undisputed No. 1 cornerback. White, on the other hand, was asked to adapt to a different role in the team’s new defensive scheme and eventually lost his starting position to offseason signing K’Lavon Chaisson. On Tuesday, he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers as part of a late-round draft pick exchange.

White was not the only former starter to be let go. Kyle Dugger, the longest-tenured Patriot and a former team captain, was also shipped away; he was sent to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a similarly-structured move.

Neither departure came as too big a shock to those inside the Patriots locker room, but they were still felt particularly by players such as Gonzalez.

“I mean, it hurt,” the All-Pro cornerback said on Wednesday. “Those are two of two of my closest friends I talk to a lot. But it’s a business at the end of the day. Happy for them, they get to go get a new fresh start. Here, we’re focused on the Falcons and getting ready for them.”

Gonzalez’s statement summed up the the feelings inside Gillette Stadium.

Sad to see Dugger and White go, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Trust in the team’s decision makers and on to the next game.

“I try not to pay too much attention. I got to farm my own land,” added wide receiver Stefon Diggs. “Obviously, guys that you build a relationship as players, hate to see them go. But you wish them the best.”

For the Patriots under Mike Vrabel, moves like Tuesday’s are nothing out of the ordinary. Over the offseason, the team already parted ways with several longtime cornerstones either through release (David Andrews, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Joe Cardona, Jabrill Peppers) or by opting against re-signing them (Jonathan Jones, Deatrich Wise Jr.).

Dugger is the latest member of that club, with the less experienced White joining him on the outs after also falling out of favor with the new coaching staff. And thus, the turnover at One Patriot Place continues.

For quarterback Drake Maye, it’s all about believing in the process.

“I think just trusting the big picture and what they’re doing in the front office, the coaching staff,” he explained.

“As a leader on this team, trust who they have in that locker room and create a bond with those guys. I think those guys are seeing and starting to gel together. So, you hate to see guys that you get to know leave, but at the same time, whoever’s in the locker room ready to go on Sundays is who we’re worried about.”

This coming Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, that group is going to look different. While neither Dugger nor White had kept their former starting roles, both were valuable rotational pieces who had played 39% and 26% of defensive snaps, respectively, over the first eight weeks of the season.

How the Patriots will replace them remains to be seen. Belief that Vrabel and company will push the right buttons — as they have in the past or else the team would not be 6-2 — is wide-spread in the locker room, though, as Stefon Diggs pointed out.

“We all trust that our coaches and everybody in charge is going to do everything in the best interest of the team.”
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Source: https://www.patspulpit.com/new-engl...on-white-trades-drake-maye-christian-gonzalez
 
Patriots vs. Falcons Thursday injury report: Rhamondre Stevenson misses second practice

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The New England Patriots continued preparations for the Atlanta Falcons without Rhamondre Stevenson.

The starting running back remained a non-participant on Thursday. He has now been sidelined for back-to-back practices due to a toe injury. But elsewhere on offense, veteran right tackle Morgan Moses returned after resting to begin the week.

Here’s the second injury report leading up to Sunday’s 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Gillette Stadium.

DID NOT PARTICIPATE​

Patriots​

  • RB Rhamondre Stevenson (toe)

Falcons​

  • No players listed

Stevenson stands with 99 touches, 448 yards and three touchdowns from scrimmage this fall. The backfield starter played a season-high 50 offensive snaps last weekend. Since then, however, the Patriots have promoted Terrell Jennings to the 53-man roster and signed fellow rushers Jonathan Ward, Rushawn Baker and D’Ernest Johnson to the practice squad.

LIMITED PARTICIPATION​

Patriots​

  • No players listed

Falcons​

  • QB Michael Penix (knee)
  • RB Tyler Allgeier (knee)
  • WR Drake London (hip)
  • WR Casey Washington (back)
  • TE Kyle Pitts (ankle)
  • OT Jake Matthews (ankle)
  • DE Zach Harrison (knee)
  • LB Jalon Walker (groin)
  • LB Leonard Floyd (hamstring)
  • CB Billy Bowman Jr. (hamstring)
  • CB Natrone Brooks (shoulder)
  • S Jessie Bates III (knee)

A trio of Falcons joined the limited participants after sitting out Wednesday’s practice. A dozen altogether went in that capacity in Flowery Branch, including the team’s No. 1 quarterback and No. 1 wide receiver, who both recently landed among the inactives. But there would be no partial listings in Foxborough. Instead, there would be a handful of veterans upgraded to full-go.

FULL PARTICIPATION​

Patriots​

  • WR Stefon Diggs (ankle)
  • OT Morgan Moses (not injury related — rest)
  • C Garrett Bradbury (toe)
  • DT Christian Barmore (not injury related — other)
  • DT Khyiris Tonga (knee)

Falcons​

  • WR Darnell Mooney (hamstring)
  • OT Storm Norton (foot — IR return)

Diggs, Bradbury, Barmore and Tonga all got the green light. The wide receiver’s ankle injury and the center’s toe injury marked the new additions to the injury report at the start of the week. The latter March signing has played every offensive snap since the September opener, while the former has caught a team-high 42 passes for 470 yards and just scored his first touchdown as a Patriot. And for the Falcons, one full participant on Wednesday became two full participants on Thursday.
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Source: https://www.patspulpit.com/new-engl...venson-remains-sidelined-morgan-moses-returns
 
Patriots links 10/31/25: Patriots-Falcons matchups, Keys to victory

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TEAM TALK


LOCAL LINKS

  • Thomas Murphy’s Monster Keys to a Patriots victory over the Falcons. 1. Ignore the Noise: The Falcons run as much or more motion than anyone in the NFL. It’s … all a lie. It’s all in the game plan to get Bijan Robinson to the outside. Ignore the noise, the play is going to the left, it’s going outside – shut the run down – Bye Jan. Bye Falcons.
  • Steve Balestrieri‘s Patriots-Falcons Week 9 keys to the game; Key matchups. Patriots RBs vs. Falcons front seven — Edge New England.
  • Mark Morse previews the Atlanta Falcons and reviews the Patriots recent signings. ‘What kind of Front Office signs an aging veteran QB to a 4-year $100 million contract in the Spring before the Draft and then turns around and drafts a QB in the 1st Round #8 overall? They should have been fired.’
  • Andrew Callahan‘s Friday Five: What I expect from the Patriots at the trade deadline; Unlocking the playbook; Imagine if the Falcons had hired Bill Belichick two years ago; More!
  • Alex Barth’s Friday Five Things: Patriots try to extend winning streak against roller coaster Falcons team.
  • Mark Daniels writes how Josh McDaniels is having fun, and the Patriots are reaping the benefits.
  • Doug Kyed notes OC Josh McDaniels says he is content with the running back depth amid trade rumors.
  • Michael Hurley explains how Josh McDaniels has used Tom Brady to inspire Drake Maye to be his best.
  • Chris Mason highlights RB coach Tony Dews on how the Pats signing 3 new running backs is ‘almost like Christmas morning.’
  • Karen Guregian notes Kyle Williams has been buried at the bottom of the receiver depth chart, but WR coach Todd Downing believes Williams time will come.
  • Matt Vautour explains why the Patriots should add aggressively at NFL trade deadline.
  • Michael Hurley relays Tom E. Curran on potential Falcons trade candidates to keep an eye on Sunday.
  • Andrew Callahan highlights Marcus Jones sharing some inside details of his contract negotiations, that lasted about a month. “I signed for a reason. I trust what (Vrabel) brings to the table. And also, how he keeps the standard, the standard. That’s the main thing.”
  • Doug Kyed helps us get to know pass rusher/trash talker K’Lavon Chaisson better.
  • Karen Guregian and Mark Daniels hand out midseason awards.
  • Mike D’Abate reports Rob Gronkowski will be featured in two 2026 movies entirely filmed in Rhode Island

NATIONAL NEWS

  • Cameron Filipe (Football Zebras) Week 9 referee assignments. Patriots-Falcons: Brad Allen.
  • Steven Ruiz (The Ringer) Jordan Love is making the leap—and putting himself in MVP contention.
  • Kevin Patra (NFL.com) 2025 NFL trade deadline: 11 player-team fits that make sense. Titans OLB Dre’Mont Jones to the Patriots.
  • John Breech (CBS Sports) NFL Week 9 picks and predictions: Colts destroy Steelers, Chiefs beat Bills in AFC thriller. Patriots win 27-17. ” …I trust the Patriots: I trust their coaching staff, I trust their quarterback and I even trust their secondary…”
  • Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Week 9 NFL picks: Bills cool off red-hot Chiefs in classic shootout. Patriots win 23-21. “…this is a step up in competition for the Patriots. That will matter. Bijan Robinson will get the ball more than the nine times he did last week to keep it close. But Patriots win it.”
  • MMQB Staff (SI) NFL Week 9 picks. All seven pick Pats to win.
  • Iain MacMillan (SI) NFL straight-up picks for every game in Week 9. Seven of eight pick Pats to win.
  • Tom Blair, et al (NFL.com) NFL Week 9 picks: Upset and score predictions, matchup analysis. All five pick the Pats to win. “The Patriots are legit.“
  • Iain MacMillan (SI) NFL upset predictions and picks for Week 9. Falcons at Patriots: “… The Patriots’ underlying metrics are concerning. Their defense is 28th in the NFL in DVOA and 19th in opponent success rate. They’re going to get exposed sooner or later, and if the “good” version of the Falcons offense shows up on Sunday, this could be the week that it does.“

VIEW FROM ATLANTA

  • Dave Choate (The Falcoholic) What to know about Falcons-Patriots in Week 9. Atlanta needs to recover, but a tough Week 9 road matchup awaits.
  • Kevin Knight (The Falcoholic) Falcons vs Patriots NFL Week 9 preview: Brutal matchup for Atlanta
  • Terrance Biggs (SI-Atlanta Falcons) Key opposing wide receivers Atlanta Falcons need to keep an eye on: Atlanta will be up against a passing game that is one of the better ones in the NFL.
  • Arkesh Rav (SI-Atlanta Falcons) Falcons look to rediscover explosive run game in Patriots matchup.
  • Matt Urben (TheFalconsWire) Falcons release new depth chart ahead of Week 9 game vs. Patriots.
  • Terrin Waack (AtlantaFalcons) Raheem Morris signals potential return of key starters from injury including QB Michael Penix Jr. (knee).
  • Tori McElhaney (AtlantaFalcons) Falcons Mailbag: Temperature check after Falcons loss to Dolphins
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Source: https://www.patspulpit.com/new-engl...-31-25-patriots-falcons-matchups-keys-victory
 
Patriots vs. Falcons Friday injury report: Rhamondre Stevenson ruled out for Week 9

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The New England Patriots will be down Rhamondre Stevenson against the Atlanta Falcons.

The starting running back remained a non-participant for three consecutive practices due to a toe injury. He has since been ruled out, as Mike Vrabel announced during his final press conference of the week.

“Everybody else doesn’t have a designation,” the head coach said.

Here’s the rest of the game statuses for Sunday’s 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Gillette Stadium.

OUT​

Patriots​

  • RB Rhamondre Stevenson (toe)

Falcons​

  • WR Casey Washington (back)
  • OT Storm Norton (foot — IR return)
  • DE Zach Harrison (knee)
  • CB Billy Bowman Jr. (hamstring)

Stevenson has started every game for the 6-2 Patriots. He stands with 99 touches, 448 yards and three touchdowns from scrimmage on the fall. But since playing a season-high 50 offensive snaps, the running back room has added seats and his return date “certainly won’t be this week.”

The organization recently promoted Terrell Jennings to the 53-man roster and signed fellow backs Jonathan Ward, Rushawn Baker and D’Ernest Johnson to the practice squad following workouts. An expanded role could also be on deck for No. 38 overall pick TreVeyon Henderson, who lost a fumble yet rushed for a team-high 75 yards on 10 carries last weekend.

“We try to figure who’s ready to go at the end of the week,” Vrabel added of the backfield depth, “and we’ll make that decision tomorrow. Just like we tell everybody when they get here on Wednesday — whoever’s here on the active or the practice squad — prepare as a starter. I feel like those guys have done that, try to do that, and continue to try to get everybody ready for the football game and see where we’re at from a numbers standpoint.”

QUESTIONABLE​

Patriots​

  • No players listed

Falcons​

  • LB Jalon Walker (groin)
  • LB Leonard Floyd (hamstring)
  • S Jessie Bates III (knee)

With no Patriots listed as questionable to begin November, three veterans managing ailments will all go without game designations. All three ramped up from limited on Wednesday to full participation on Thursday and Friday.

That group includes wide receiver Stefon Diggs and center Garrett Bradbury on the offensive side despite ankle and toe injuries, respectively. The latter has played 100 percent of the downs for the interior line since the start of September, while the former has caught one touchdown and a team-high 42 passes for 470 yards. And on the defensive side of the ball, nose tackle Khyiris Tonga is also good to go after residing on the injury report for back-to-back weeks with a knee issue.

As for the Falcons, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and wide receiver Drake London are set to return to the starting lineup following one-game absences. Both were among the full-go players to close out preparations in Flowery Branch.
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Source: https://www.patspulpit.com/new-engl...ury-report-rhamondre-stevenson-out-nfl-week-9
 
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