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3 winners, 3 losers from Patriots’ preseason win over Titans

By Patrick Morgan

DETROIT, MI - AUGUST 8: Damien Harris #37 of the New England Patriots gets ready for the preseason game against the Detroit Lions on August 8, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - AUGUST 8: Damien Harris #37 of the New England Patriots gets ready for the preseason game against the Detroit Lions on August 8, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 21: Derek Rivers #95 of the New England Patriots rushes against Bobby Massie #70 of the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on October 21, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Patriots defeated the Bears 38-31. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 21: Derek Rivers #95 of the New England Patriots rushes against Bobby Massie #70 of the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on October 21, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Patriots defeated the Bears 38-31. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Derek Rivers (LOSER)

Derek Rivers continues to fight what seems like a never-ending war against the injury bug. The former third-round pick out of Youngstown State first missed his entire rookie season in 2017 with a torn ACL suffered in training camp.

He came all the way in his recovery, returning last season right around Week 3; but even then, he failed to make a significant impact on the Patriots defensively over the remainder of their campaign. Ultimately he was a healthy scratch for a number of games, with New England instead leaning on the combination of Trey Flowers and Deatrich Wise at defensive end to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

It’s a fairly common assertion and idea that 2019 is a make-or-break year for Rivers. To be fair, he’s still just 25 years young, and he was an absolute sack artist back in college. Clearly the ceiling he has from a purely talent-driven perspective is astronomical… the only problem is, can he stay on the field?

The answer thus far is decidedly ‘no.’ Rivers exited the Patriots’ win over the Titans midway through the first quarter, limping off the field with an unknown injury. He did not return.

Just as Jakobi Meyers’ emergence at receiver is harming Braxton Berrios’ chances at sticking on the Patriots’ roster, it now looks as if Chase Winovich’s emergence is doing massive damage to Derek Rivers’ chances of doing the same.

Michael Bennett will also find his way into the defensive end rotation when the games start to matter, which could very well leave Rivers as the odd man out come September.

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