FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots open the 2022 NFL regular season at the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 11 at Hard Rock Stadium.
They project to do so with a decisive youth movement on their roster. In addition to the majority of their 10-player draft class being expected to earn spots, the team has four intriguing undrafted rookie free agents who have also made compelling cases to stick around.
As usual, expect plenty of roster juggling from coach Bill Belichick. The initial 53-man roster won't be the 53-man roster the team opens with at Miami, in part because some players must initially be on the roster before being moved to short-term injured reserve (e.g., second-round wide receiver Tyquan Thornton), opening a spot for someone who was initially released.
Belichick must also weigh which younger players he's willing to expose to waivers and potentially lose to other teams. There's always a surprise or two, with the Patriots eyeing players from other clubs as well.
The roster will be cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Here is a projection:
QUARTERBACK (3): Mac Jones, Brian Hoyer, Bailey Zappe