It's fair to say the most excitement around the Patriots' offense going into the 2026 season centered on Drake Maye's Year 3 progress and the addition of A.J. Brown seven years later than fans hoped.
It meant that little was being said about Romeo Doubs, whom the team signed in free agency, despite his impressive first four years with the Packers. He was overlooked throughout the summer, partly because he failed to steal the spotlight from some teammates and because there were concerns about whether he was a good fit for the team.
All of that culminated in massive disappointment with his performance against the Seahawks last week. It wasn't just that he was barely involved; his bobbled pass that led to an interception and a devastating drop made it so much worse.
It prompted fans to take to social media to relentlessly bash the 26-year-old in the days that followed the loss, which only grew louder after Brown went down with an ankle injury that put him on injured reserve, and many are worried about the state of the receiving corps if Doubs is going to be featured more.
So it's no surprise that his coaches are coming to his defense and showing their support ahead of a very telling Week 2 matchup. The first of whom was Josh McDaniels, who appeared on WEEI last week to talk about the game.
Josh McDaniels isn't straying from his support of Romeo Doubs after a rough debut
During his interview, the Patriots' play caller was asked about Doubs and his struggles against the Seahawks, and McDaniels emphasized that players have ups and downs and that this isn't entirely unexpected.
He also expressed support for the young receiver, reiterating that they liked what they saw of him during training camp and still have a lot of confidence in the player he can be for their team.
“They’re all professionals. Most of these guys have gone through games where they have some ups and some downs. They wouldn’t be where they’re at if they couldn’t handle a little adversity and come back from it.
We’ve seen Romeo make a lot of big plays for us since the spring since we got him and all the way through training camp. We have a lot of confidence in Romeo. I’m confident in what he’s gonna do going forward.”
Although this isn't any different from what any head coach should say about a player after one game with a new team, it's exactly what many Patriots fans needed to hear, especially those who cannot let go of the mistakes Doubs made last Wednesday.
It was a difficult game to begin with, made even more stressful by being on the road, in a hostile environment, surrounded by the league's loudest fans, and facing the team that had beaten them seven months ago.
It's not like Doubs was the only player who took the field for the Patriots that night who struggled or made regretful mistakes. We saw Maye make some boneheaded moves, and nobody is yelling for him to be benched.
So there are far too many reasons to give grace to Doubs, who will learn from what happened in Week 1 and can only grow into a better player because of it. He will be forced to step up more now that Brown is sidelined for potentially six weeks, putting Doubs in a bigger role than he was expected to have in his New England tenure.
Clearly, his coaches believe he can handle what's to come and that we won't see this kind of performance from him again this year, and that means something.
Add us as a preferred source on Google