Opening day countdowns are great. So are player profiles. Here at Musket Fire, we decided to combine them and create a Week 1 countdown-oriented, jersey number-dictated player profile series. Yesterday, we looked at No. 83 Fred Davis, and the day before that it was No. 84 Brian Tyms. Because today marks 82 days until the New England Patriots open 2015, we are profiling No. 82, wide receiver Josh Boyce.
Drafted out of TCU in the fourth round back in 2013, Boyce has yet to make a significant impact for the Patriots. The only real game action Boyce has seen came in his rookie year when he snagged nine passes for 121 yards and averaged 23.8 yards on nine kick returns.
In his sophomore season, Boyce was cut in training camp but then signed to the practice squad a day later. He stayed there until late December when Alfonzo Dennard was placed on injured reserve, opening up a spot on the active roster for Week 17. So Boyce was only active for one game last season.
Fighting an uphill battle in a crowded wide receiver competition, it will be another tough training camp for Boyce. Free agent addition Brandon Gibson, as well as undrafted rookie Chris Harper, will make life difficult for Boyce as he vies against the usual suspects of Aaron Dobson and Brian Tyms for those last roster spots at wideout.
Keep in mind that every dog has its day, and the dog days of the summer produce some very surprising storylines. So while Boyce faces long odds to make the team, you can’t count him out quite yet.
In recent news, Mike Reiss, the most trustworthy Patriots reporter out there, tells us that Boyce got dinged up at minicamp the other day.
WR Josh Boyce also didn't finish practice after coming up gingerly following a long incomplete pass down the left sideline. #Patriots
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) June 16, 2015
Perhaps no player on the Patriots’ roster has received less attention thus far this summer than Boyce. If you search him on Google News, you won’t find an article focusing solely on Boyce. According to Twitter, the most newsworthy item involving Boyce is his Snapchat story from the Super Bowl XLIX rings ceremony.
Low key @Josh_Boyce had the best snap story from the ring ceremony.
— Kyle (@KD9512) June 15, 2015
In case you missed them, here are the profiles for No. 85 Jake Bequette, No. 86 A.J. Derby, No. 87 Rob Gronkowski, No. 88 Scott Chandler, No. 90 Zach Moore, No. 91 Jamie Collins, No. 92 Malcom Brown, No. 93 Jabaal Sheard, No. 94 Chris jones and No. 95 Chandler Jones.
Check back on Musket Fire on Monday morning as we celebrate 80 days until Patriots kick-off by profiling No. 80, veteran wide receiver Danny Amendola. Now that Tim Wright has been released, no player has the No. 81 jersey, so the series is taking a break tomorrow.