3 Patriots Who Cost Themselves Their Jobs Against the Panthers in Preseason Week 1
By Jovan Alford
3. Mitchell Wilcox
The Patriots entered the preseason with a crowded tight end room. New England has four pass catchers competing for the TE3 job, including Mitchell Wilcox.
New England signed Wilcox before the 2024 NFL Draft in April after he spent the last three years with the Cincinnati Bengals. However, the 27-year-old tight end didn’t make a good first impression with Patriots fans on Thursday night.
The former Bengals tight end was called for a holding penalty and had a pass to open the game hit his hands.
The Patriots have four penalties for 29 yards. They've all come on offense.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) August 8, 2024
Okorafor false start
Pettway false start
Wilcox holding
Zappe intentional grounding
Jacoby Brissett overthrows Mitchell Wilcox with his first throw of the night pic.twitter.com/lqVGuXkCfX
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) August 8, 2024
Wilcox finished the game with one catch (four targets) for five yards, which isn’t the best statline when you want to win a job in the preseason. Fans were more impressed with rookie tight end Jaheim Bell, who has the versatility and skillset to be utilized across the formation.
Bell only finished with one reception for 11 yards, but his upside is much higher than Wilcox, who needs to be better in next week’s preseason game.
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