4 Patriots Still on Thin Ice Despite Surviving Roster Cuts
2. Jacoby Brissett, QB
After seven seasons away, veteran QB Jacoby Brissett returned to the team that drafted him when he inked a one-year deal with the Patriots this offseason. The 31-year-old gunslinger has racked up over 10,000 passing yards with 51 TDs (to 23 INTs) since leaving New England in 2017.
Initially, Brissett was slated to be the Patriots' QB1 as 2024 third-overall pick Drake Maye took time to develop. After all, the last thing management wanted to do was hurt the face of the franchise's development. A seasoned veteran like Brissett would make the perfect stop-gap.
Fast forward to the end of August where it's entirely possible that Maye starts in Week 1. While the rookie signal-caller had a solid preseason, that wasn't the case for his more experienced counterpart. Brissett only completed 5-of-14 (35.7%) passing attempts for 36 passing yards, one interception, and a 14.6 passer rating. Even though it's "only" the preseason, those numbers aren't encouraging.
In other words, Brissett needs to turn things around as soon as possible. While he isn't expected to bring another Lombardi Trophy to the Patriots, he must step up so that the team isn't forced to throw Maye into the fire prematurely.
3. Joey Slye, K
The Patriots held a kicker competition this offseason and it finally ended on Tuesday. One year after being a fourth-round pick by Bill Belichick, Chad Ryland was released by New England following an abysmal preseason performance.
As a result, veteran Joey Slye will be the Patriots' lead kicker to begin the year. Nevertheless, the 28-year-old's future with the franchise isn't 100% secure.
Even though he beat out Ryland, Slye was far from perfect this summer. The former Virginia Tech special teamer went 43-for-54 on his kicking attempts throughout training camp, making only two more field goals than Ryland. Slye's 79.6% success rate in the competition is also noticeably below his career mark of 82.3%.
Slye's job is safe for now, but that could quickly change if he doesn't rise to the occasion when the meaningful football games begin. The Patriots can't afford to struggle to make field goals for back-to-back seasons, and Slye failing to turn things around could see him quickly replaced by an outsider.