PatsFans

We really don’t know anything about either team going into the NFL Season Kickoff game. Neither team played any of their starters in the Pre-Season. This probably is the result of playing so deep into the season last year reaching the Super Bowl. Both teams played 21 games and got a late start into their off-season programs. Seattle had many losses from their Super Bowl championship team. First, they lost Offensive Coordinator Klint Kubiak.

One of the biggest stories over the last few months has been the situation with Christian Gonzalez, whose contract negotiations seemed to have his status in question heading into the start of the regular season. Fortunately, after Monday night, that no longer appears to be an issue. NFL Insider Jordan Schultz reported that Gonzalez and the Patriots finally agreed to a 4-year, $135 million deal with $102 million guaranteed.

The focus is now on the Seattle Seahawks, the defending Super Bowl Champions. The Seahawks easily dispatched the Patriots in the Super Bowl and open the new NFL season with a marquee matchup on Wednesday night before a national audience. This game features a rematch of the Super Bowl. Seattle will be raising their banner in front of their rabid 12th man crowd. Coaching accounted for a ton of success in Seattle, more than probably most successful teams that have won a Super Bowl in recent memory.

Good morning, and a happy Sunday to all. Here is your Patriots news and notes for 09-06, and our first key matchup piece of the 2026 regular season. The preseason is over, the roster is set (for now), and the practice squad is now filled. We haven’t seen the Patriots’ starters on the field in a game situation yet this year (except in joint practices), but the Seahawks didn’t play their starters in the preseason either. So, both teams may exhibit some rust in the early going.

Here’s what New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel had to say during his press conference on Thursday, September 3, 2026. On if it helps in any way that they did play Seattle 7 months ago: “I mean, I don’t think that it— I mean, as far as the players that they’ve had and the play style, maybe. I mean, we’ll have to block them better. We’ll have to be able to run the football better. We’re going to have to be able to stop the run better.

Here’s what New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel had to say during his press conference on Monday, September 1st, 2026: On the fact he’s got the roster down to 53, he’s acquired a few players in the process, and if he feels any better about their depth with those moves: “Well, it’s, adding, 10, I think, new faces. Up to 10, and that may continue to rise. Those are new guys to work with, but also, we’ve got to get them moving pretty quick.

Now that the 53-man roster is complete (or so we think), I will analyze this year’s team compared to the team that went to the Super Bowl. (PHOTO: © Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) QB – Drake Maye nearly won the MVP last season with a 72% completion rate. He threw for nearly 4400 yards, 31 TDs, and 8 INTs.    But that was last year against a week schedule of opponents.

The Patriots were busy again on Tuesday, adding players to their Practice Squad and 53-Man roster, which was a continuation after the final cutdown and subsequent moves. No RB TreVeyon Henderson at practice (Ankle) TE Cameron Latu was a non-participant at practice. Here are the 2026 Patriots captains: Drake Maye Hunter Henry Morgan Moses Robert Spillane Kevin Byard III Marcus Jones Interesting to note, neither Christian Gonzalez nor Brenden Schooler were named Captains.

Nineteen hours after getting down to the league-mandated 53 players, the Patriots were very busy reshaping their roster and filling the Practice Squad. They were awarded two players off waivers, then released two veterans to make room for them. But they weren’t done yet. After this, they also sent two players to the IR, leaving the roster short two players at 51. At 1:00, they started filling the Practice Squad. The Patriots were awarded two players from Cut-Down Waivers.

This is not the roster the Patriots will go into the Seattle game with. They have holes that need to be filled, and some of the players that made the initial roster won’t be on the roster for game one. Waiver claims (unlikely) and Free Agents may still make their way onto the roster. There is plenty of room for improvement on this roster. They lack quality depth, and poor drafting has stripped them of these depth players. Eliot Wolf’s 2024 draft was a disaster outside of the Drake Maye pick.