Potential Patriots Schedule Leak Emerges Ahead of Release

On Wednesday night, NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that regular season schedule is expected to be released on May 15. While it doesn't come from a source of Schefter's pedigree, a possible Patriots schedule leak has been making the rounds on social media.

Now, nothing is official until the NFL officially makes their announcement, but speculation is always an enjoyable exercise, so let's dive into some of these potential matchups.

Three primetime games highlight the possible schedule, including a Thursday night visit to Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears. It seems unlikely that Drake Maye will be the Patriots' starter in Week 4, but it would be fun to see a showdown between two top-three quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft.

New England would also be slated to visit old friend Mac Jones (if he can hang around on the Jags roster) for a Monday Night Football tilt in Week 7.

This schedule also signals that the Patriots were successful in their request to the NFL that their away NFC West games vs. the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals to be scheduled in back-to-back weeks. New England reportedly preferred to remain on the West Coast between those two games.

The second half of that back-to-back, the Arizona game, would be the third of the Patriots' three primetime games listed above.

Week 18 at the Miami Dolphins is another intriguing matchup, as a final game between division rivals could carry playoff implications. It might be a pipe dream that New England would be fighting for a postseason berth this season, but perhaps they can play spoilers for a Miami team that made the 2023 playoffs.

As was mentioned previously, the Patriots bye week could carry substantial weight when it comes to the implementation of Drake Maye as New England's starter. Per the purported leak, the Patriots' bye week would fall on Week 9, which would give New England a decent amount of time to develop Maye. However, throwing him in for his first career start vs. the defending NFC champions could be a tall task.

The Patriots' 2024 strength of schedule isn't going to do them any favors, as they are currently projected to have the second-hardest schedule in the league.

If the leaked schedule proves to come to fruition, then credit where credit is due.

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