Patriots haven't decided which players will play vs. Packers in Saturday's preseason game
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin -- The Patriots play a preseason game against the Packers on Saturday. As of Friday morning, Bill Belichick hasn't decided which players will play in the exhibition tilt.
The preseason game will come after the two teams had a pair of joint practices in Green Bay this week. Belichick said Friday morning that he and his staff are still figuring out which players are available for Saturday's game following those rigorous practice sessions.
"We'll talk about that as a staff this morning," Belichick said on a Zoom call with reporters. "We'll take stock of the team's physical condition, availability, and make those decisions a little later on today as we prepare for tomorrow."
The Patriots had a good day offensively on Thursday, so Belichick may opt to keep starters like Mac Jones, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Rhamondre Stevenson on the bench come Saturday night. (New England's banged-up offensive line may play into that decision too.) The majority of the team's starters on both sides of the ball sat out last Thursday's preseason opener against the Texans.
Patriots starters played in the second preseason game last season, with Jones playing into the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers. We'll see if Saturday's second preseason game plays out in similar fashion, of if the work starters did in the joint sessions was good enough for Belichick and company.
After facing off against the Packers, the Patriots will head to Tennessee for two more joint practices with the Titans next week. The Pats will close out their preseason slate next Friday night against the Titans, and open the regular season on Sept. 10 at home against the Philadelphia Eagles.
