Friday’s preseason game against the Carolina Panthers will officially be the first look at the New England Patriots with their starters, including quarterback Mac Jones, on the field.
They worked in on Tuesday and Wednesday during a turbulent pair of joint practice sessions with the Panthers. What was supposed to be a friendly and competitive practice quickly went off the rails and turned into what looked like a bar scene fight from the movie “Roadhouse.”
On Friday, the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan reported the list of absences ahead of the game, and things were considerably lighter than it was in the opener, when the team opted to bench their starters.
#Patriots absences tonight:
OT Trent Brown
WR Kendrick Bourne
TE Hunter Henry
OT Isaiah Wynn
WR Kristian Wilkerson
OL Bill Murray
OL Andrew Stueber
OT Justin Herron— Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) August 19, 2022
Bourne is the interesting name on the list considering he was recently ejected from a training camp practice this week for fighting with the Panthers. Last season, he was second in receiving yards behind Patriots wideout Jakobi Meyers, but he has barely made a peep throughout this year’s training camp.
It’s a surprising turn of events for a player most expected to be a significant contributor for the offense.
