Patriots vs. Packers: Starters Expected to Play! How Long?
After a promising week of practice against the Green Bay Packers, all signs from Lambeau Field are that the New England Patriots will give their starters at least some playing time in Saturday night's preseason game.
The Patriots "won" Thursday's joint practice, with quarterback Mac Jones having one of his best throwing days since joining the NFL. With more joint practices ahead on Tuesday in Nashville against the Tennessee Titans, Bill Belichick said this week that he would evaluate his team before deciding playing time.
“We’ll take stock of the team’s physical condition after a couple practices," Belichick said, "and then make those decisions a little bit later on."
But starters on both offense and defense are going through full pre-game warm-ups, an indication that we'll see the 2023 debuts of Jones and new receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster on offense and Pro Bowl pass-rusher Matthew Judon on defense. Also expected to see action is rookie third-round draft pick Marte Mapu, who began practicing full-speed last week after ramping up from a pectoral muscle tear suffered before last April's NFL Draft.
The Pats will also continue to evaluate promising rookies Keion White and Christian Gonzalez, while likely giving more time at quarterback Malik Cunningham. The rookie free agent was the star of last week's preseason opener against the Houston Texans, scoring the team's lone touchdown.
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