FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Revamped QB room: Former Patriots coach Bill Belichick once shared the philosophy that if all levels of the quarterback depth chart aren’t accounted for, it puts the entire team at risk. Such is the importance of the position.
With that in mind, the Patriots’ new-look quarterback room — specifically with undrafted rookie Ben Wooldridge of the University of Louisiana stepping into a developmental No. 3 role — has somewhat flown under the radar.
Drake Maye is entrenched as the starter and primed to have the “C” on his jersey as a first-time Patriots captain in his second season. Joshua Dobbs was signed to a two-year, $8 million deal as a free agent to serve as his veteran mentor/support system.
And after the Patriots passed on selecting a quarterback with each of their 11 draft picks, Wooldridge was signed to replace Joe Milton III, who was traded along with a seventh-round pick to the Cowboys for a fifth-round pick in early April.
Why Wooldridge?
Allow Ragin’ Cajuns head coach Michael Desormeaux to explain.
“He’s obsessed with being a great football player. I’ve never been around someone who is as diligent and disciplined as he is,” Desormeaux told ESPN. “He set the tone for us with his work ethic and leadership — one of those guys as a leader who was willing to do it and certainly demanded that everyone else do it. So I think you’re getting a ‘football guy’ first and foremost, someone who loves the game.
“That’s the kind of preparation you have to have at the quarterback position, and he also has all the physical tools that you need. He’s a good athlete. He runs well [4.81 in the 40-yard dash at pro day]. He has the arm strength to make all the throws, but I think what sets Ben apart is his mental preparation and approach to the game.”
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The 6-foot-2, 214-pound Wooldridge, a native of Pleasanton, California, is an older rookie at 25 years old. He spent seven years in college — three at Fresno State, the last four at Louisiana.
In 24 games with the Ragin’ Cajuns, he finished with 4,622 passing yards and 37 touchdowns through the air, while adding 447 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.
In 2024, he was named Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the year after amassing 2,453 yards and 17 touchdowns. His 66% completion percentage ranked 24th in FBS and his 72.5 QBR ranked 28th. One of Wooldridge’s signature performances came last season in a 41-38 win over Wake Forest, when he threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns.
However, Wooldridge also had his fair share of injuries. He suffered an ACL tear in practice as a sophomore, a serious foot injury (Lisfranc) in his junior year, a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder last season and later sustaining a collarbone injury.
Desormeaux credited Wooldridge’s toughness and determination to keep coming back from those setbacks. Aside from that, Desormeaux said two things that might have appealed to NFL teams such as the Patriots are his physical makeup and knack for picking up X’s and O’s.
“When you see him in person, you see how well-built he is — he looks the part [32-inch arm length, 78¾ wingspan], and I think his arm strength was better than people probably anticipated,” he said.
“Then you spend five minutes with him and you’re blown away with his football intelligence. His understanding of what we did — I’d say it was mastery of our offense. He handled run IDs and would call out the combinations. He’s very mature, wants to know the ‘why’ behind everything, and is competitive as heck.”
2. Three straight on road: The Patriots released their 2025 schedule Wednesday. One aspect that naturally stood out from the unveiling was a stretch of three straight road games in October (Buffalo Bills, New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans).
How rare is that?
The Ravens and Titans are the only other teams to have a three-games-in-a-row stretch on the road this season. The Titans’ trio ( Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals, Las Vegas Raiders) comes before they host the Patriots on Oct. 19 in Mike Vrabel’s highly anticipated return to Nashville.
Meanwhile, after back-to-back years with the Week 14 bye, NFL vice president of broadcast planning Mike North said he’d be surprised if the Patriots have a Week 14 bye again next season.
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Schefter: Christian Barmore cleared for football activity
Adam Schefter reports that Patriots DT Christian Barmore is cleared to play after missing most of last season because of blood clots.
3. Williams sets tone: When a team’s highest-paid player is also one of its hardest workers, that can be a powerful force. It seems like that is playing out behind the scenes with free agent signing Milton Williams, who has been a regular participant in the voluntary offseason program.
“I’m trying to lead by example. Hopefully the guys will see me working and they’ll want to follow suit. Trying to bring everyone along to what we’re trying to build here,” Williams said.
Fellow defensive tackle Christian Barmore, for one, has been caught up in the current. They have a daily competition on who arrives earlier.
“He makes me work hard,” Barmore said.
4. Feel for “Forged”: Episode 1 of the Patriots-produced “Forged in Foxborough” series dropped Friday, with a heavy focus on Vrabel and his vision for building the team. It brought viewers inside the team meeting room, where quarterbacks Maye and Dobbs were the lone players sitting in the center front row, along with running back Antonio Gibson.
A nice touch was also seeing some of the team’s unsung scouts on the road, such as Tucker Ingraham (national), Matt Evans (national) and J.T. Hill (West), and how Hill noted Washington State receiver Kyle Williams having the best day during a Senior Bowl practice.
That ultimately manifested itself with the Patriots picking Williams in the third round.
5. Teams wanted pick 38: One draft-day nugget revealed in “Forged in Foxborough” was that the Chicago Bears tried to move up to pick No. 38, offering pick 39 and a seventh-rounder to do so. The assumption is that they wanted running back TreVeyon Henderson. The Patriots declined and took Henderson themselves.
In a different proposal, possibly from Houston, the Patriots turned down a deal for pick 38 that would have given them 58, 79 and a 2025 third-rounder. Another detail of note — the 2026 fourth-round pick they acquired in a trade from Kansas City for pick No. 85 is the selection originally owned by Chicago, not the Chiefs’ original pick.
Question: What is different about Josh McDaniels since you last worked with him in 2021?
Kendrick Bourne (with a smile): “He looks great. Really good. I was just telling him that – teasing him. I love his energy.” pic.twitter.com/apdqDkrDtM
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) May 13, 2025
6. Rhamondre’s heartache: Running back Rhamondre Stevenson’s father, Robert, passed away in March at age 54. Stevenson also lost his childhood friend, Brandan Harley, last season. Understanding that Stevenson has experienced sudden and heartbreaking losses in a short period of time, teammates privately say they hope to provide him as much support as possible once he starts spending more time at the facility.
His recent absences during the voluntary offseason program might explain why the team signed veteran Trayveon Williams to a one-year deal on Wednesday, adding another layer of depth to better evenly distribute some of the work.
7. They said it: “Taking care of my parents was a big thing for me; making sure that they’re going to be good and don’t have to work as hard as they’ve been working. Just trying to pay it back to them.” — Williams, on his four-year, $104 million contract, and what he was able to do with it that had previously been out of reach
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8. Mack’s rap: Former Patriots linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. wrote and sang the “18 Bars” rap song as part of the Cardinals’ schedule release. Wilson had a solid debut season in Arizona in 2024 — totaling 75 tackles and 3 sacks — after playing in New England from 2022-23.
9. Did you know? Part I: The Patriots have prime-time games at home against the New York Jets (Nov. 13) and the New York Giants (Dec. 1), marking the fourth time they will face the Jets and Giants in prime time in the same season (1987, 1999, 2019).
10. Did you know? Part II: A total of 59 quarterbacks started at least one game last season. Eight teams had three different quarterbacks start at least one game.
