4 Patriots training camp battles that are heating up
Both Andy Borregales and John Parker Romo continue to be in the running for the team's starting kicker spot.
Now three weeks into training camp, some things are starting to crystallize for a revamped Patriots roster.
New England has some wideouts like Kayshon Boutte already establishing themselves as viable starters, while a five-man grouping of Will Campbell, Jared Wilson, Garrett Bradbury, Mike Onwenu, and Morgan Moses are separating themselves from the pack as the team’s starting offensive line.
Still, New England does have several question marks on its roster across various segments of the roster — with several players either making significant pushes or stumbling down the depth chart in recent days.
As the Patriots brace themselves for a preseason matchup against the Vikings in Minnesota on Saturday, here’s a look at the top training-camp battles currently taking place on Mike Vrabel’s club.
The kicker competition
Many expected the top camp battles in Foxborough to revolve around crowded positional groups — such as wide receiver and the offensive line.
Instead, the most compelling bout so far in New England has revolved around two kickers in Andy Borregales and John Parker Romo — both of whom have seemingly refused to give an inch in their battle for the team’s starting role.
Considering that the Patriots used a sixth-round pick to take Borregales as the first kicker off the board in the 2025 NFL Draft, the rookie was considered the odds-on favorite entering camp.
But Romo has been the more consistent kicker to this point. Even with both players struggling during Monday’s practice in Foxborough, Romo has still converted on 89.1 percent of his field-goal attempts during camp (33-of-37). Borregales is operating at 84.1 percent (37-of-44) after successfully converting on 5 of 6 attempts during Wednesday’s joint practice with Minnesota.
This battle might come down to how both players fare over the final two preseason games, with Romo once again making a strong case for himself on Friday against the Commanders by connecting on a 57-yard field goal.
Based on Patriots special teams coach Jeremy Springer’s musings on Monday, Borregales’ draft status alone won’t give him the edge over a journeyman like Romo.
“I just think at the end of the day, it’s the consistent person. It doesn’t matter if you’re drafted or undrafted or you were picked up in free agency,” Springer said. “Coach Vrabel’s message is very clear – you have to earn a role. If you earn a role through consistency and showing up every day, to me, that’s the guy who’s going to win the job. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who they are, and that’s how I approach it every day.
“Coach both guys the same way. I hope they continue to progress and do what they’re told to do and show some consistency, and I’ll be happy at the end of the day with whoever we pick.”
Wideouts on the roster bubble
In our first 53-man roster projection released on Wednesday morning, we had a whopping seven wide receivers making the team for New England entering Week 1.
That might be a bit unrealistic, especially with the team already moving forward with five “locks” at the position between Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas, Boutte, Kyle Williams, and Mack Hollins.
If Vrabel and Co. do opt to keep New England’s wideout corps to just six players, it’s looking like a two-man race between Javon Baker and Efton Chism III.
Both wideouts have seen their stock soar over the last week. Once viewed as a potential lost cause after a disastrous rookie year, Baker has started to showcase his talents in camp with several highlight-reel catches, while also boosting his value by making some key special-teams tackles during Friday’s preseason win over Washington.
Chism has also started to come on after a quiet start to camp, leading all Patriots wideouts with six receptions and 50 receiving yards to go along with a touchdown on Friday against the Commanders.
Chism’s upside and the potential of utilizing him as another shifty slot wideout in Josh McDaniels’ system might be too tempting to pass up — especially given the high chance that Chism is claimed by another team if New England tries to stash him on the practice squad.
But Baker has drawn plenty of praise from Vrabel in recent days for his buy-in and versatility on special teams, which could also make him a much-needed Swiss Army Knife for New England.
“Yeah, I think that’s fantastic,” Vrabel told reporters about Baker’s special teams performance over the weekend. “When you have players, especially receivers, that can create a role, that can help you, be big, physical, everything that we see out of Javon as a receiver, when they can embrace that as special teams players, guys that are big and physical and fast and willing, that translates to special teams.”
Keeping seven wideouts might be the only way that New England avoids having a painful decision to make at that position on cutdown day.
Craig Woodson’s pursuit of starting reps
Plenty of focus has been put on New England’s rookie class — especially on the offensive side of the ball with names like Will Campbell, TreVeyon Henderson, Wilson, and Kyle Williams.
But fourth-round pick Craig Woodson is starting to make a legitimate push as one of New England’s starting safeties alongside Jabrill Peppers.
At the start of camp, the general consensus was that New England would open the 2025 season with veteran Kyle Dugger in place alongside Peppers. But that sentiment has changed in recent days, with Dugger now repping with the second-team unit over the past week.
Beyond his struggles in coverage during camp and preseason action, Dugger has gone through some growing pains adjusting to Vrabel and defensive coordinator Terrell Williams’ scheme.
“Just making sure that he’s where he needs to be and understanding the coverage concepts and everything we do,” Vrabel said Wednesday of what Dugger needs to do to earn first-team reps moving forward. “Keep working and keep progressing. A lot of this is that guys have earned the right to take a look with that first unit and, again, there will be different lineups and different things. Just focus on the reps that you get right now.”
Dugger’s struggles has created opportunity for other players, but Woodson has made the most of his chances as a dynamic safety who covers a lot of ground and can deliver some bone-crunching hits while stopping the run.
Depth at offensive line
The Patriots’ starting O-line unit might be taking shape. But given the amount of inexperience on that grouping with two rookies — coupled (and contrasted) with Moses’ age at 34 years old — New England needs to identify who might be the next men up if injuries/ineffective play sprout up.
New England needs to find some insurance at the swing tackle position, with both Demontrey Jacobs and 2025 seventh-round pick Marcus Bryant looking like the early favorites when it comes to the rest of the team’s tackle depth.
Bradbury might be the leader in the clubhouse for New England’s starting center spot, but New England also has to find a capable backup option. Wilson could slot over, but it does look like the Patriots want to keep him at left guard this season as the rookie tries to find his footing in the NFL ranks.
As such, it looks as though Cole Strange’s best shot at sticking with the Patriots rests in him either taking that backup center spot or becoming the backup option for Wilson at left guard.
That might be a tall task for the 2022 first-round pick, as Ben Brown might have the inside edge at center — while 2024 third-round selection Caedan Wallace might hold more value given his ability to play both guard and tackle.
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