Roster bubble Patriots players won't have best chance to shine vs. Commanders

As the preseason comes to a close with the Patriots visiting the Commanders for some Sunday night football, a primary focus for all teams this weekend has been trimming down their roster from 90 players to 53. The cutdown deadline is on Tuesday, and with the new NFL rule in place, it is the only roster cut before the regular season begins.

The game vs. the Commanders will be the last chance the Patriots coaching staff has to evaluate the roster before starting cuts and naming starters, but the Commanders are reportedly not doing them any favors ahead of tonight's game.

Jerod Mayo has already stated that all healthy players will participate in the Sunday night action, even if it's just for a few snaps. Because so many players need to prove themselves worthy of holding a spot on the 2024 team, there is inevitably a lot of pressure to perform well in the preseason finale.

Unfortunately, Washington has other plans, as it was just revealed they will have 34 players spending the game on the bench, most of whom are starters.

This means the Patriots players needing to impress won't face tougher competition to show they are NFL-ready, putting even more pressure on them to perform well against the opponents' second and third stringers.

While it makes sense for most teams to sit their starters for the Week 3 game, it doesn't benefit a team in need of significant roster evaluation like the Patriots, especially on offense.

Hopefully, they'll be able to take advantage of the time they have on the field and make the most of it, with a focus being on Drake Maye as he continues to fight for the starting job this season.

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