7 things to watch during Patriots OTAs and Minicamp

This week, the 2025 New England Patriots will get on a football field together for the first time. They're beginning Phase 3 of the offseason, which includes full team practices.

There are two parts of Phase 3. The first is organized team activities, or OTAs. These are voluntary workouts, with nine practices between May 19 and June 5. Three of those practices will be open to the media - May 20, May 28, and June 2.

Following OTAs the Patriots will hold Minicamp, which is mandatory for players. All three of those practices, from June 9 to 11, will be open to the media.

All spring practices are non-padded and non-contact. These practices are more instructional than competitive - it's more about setting the baseline for players ahead of training camp.

Given that it can be tough to gauge position battles and things like that in this setting. That being said there is still plenty to learn in terms of where players may stand on the depth chart heading into those battles and how the team plans to use certain players.

Keeping that in mind, here are some storylines we'll be watching for throughout the spring...

Contrary to popular belief the 'O' in OTAs stands for 'organized' and not 'optional.' Still, players are not required to attend OTA practices (although players can have bonuses in their contracts for attending).

In the first year with a new coach who is all about culture, which players if any will stay home? The big focus will be on returning players, who weren't brought in by this current front office and coaching staff.

Similar but separate from keeping track of which players are in Foxborough for workouts is seeing how involved players returning from injury are in these workouts. The Patriots have multiple players who missed significant time last season - including those who did for other teams.

One big update on this actually came last week. Defensive tackle Christian Barmore shared he's been cleared for football activities after getting shut down twice last year due to blood clot issues. It will be interesting to see how involved Barmore is in these practices.

The other key player coming off of an injury is wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who tore his ACL last October while with the Houston Texans. While that timing generally means a player will miss the start of the season, multiple reports have Diggs ahead of schedule and he's been seen on the field with the team in Phases 1 and 2 of the offseason workout program. Being just six and a half months removed from the injury he still may not be a full participant, but any time he can get working to get on the same page with Drake Maye would be valuable.

An under-the-radar player coming off on an injury is safety free agent signing Marcus Epps. Epps tore his ACL in Week 3 last year while playing for the Las Vegas Raiders. Epps experience as a true deep safety stands out among a positional room mostly consisting of hybrid players, and he should have a chance to earn a significant rotational role if he's fully healthy.

Let's get to some of the usage conversations, and we'll begin with the starting spot the appears to be the most wide open at this point - left guard. Who will get the first chance to win the spot next to Will Campbell?

Pictures from the early practices had veteran free agent signing Wes Schweitzer in that spot. That's a bit of a surprise given that, while Schweitzer has started 62 games in his career just 13 of those have come since 2020, including just one offensive snap last season.

Schweitzer getting the nod may be as simple as a veteran getting preference as practices begin (sort of like how Bailey Zappe began last spring repping over Maye). He'll have to hold off a number of younger players including Layden Robinson, Sidy Sow, and Cole Strange. Rookie Jared Wilson could factor in here as well, although he'll likely mainly be focusing on developing at center and potentially pushing veteran Garrett Bradbury for that job.

While Schweitzer may start out in that role, we'll be tracking how those reps are split as the spring goes on. Who will emerge from that younger group - or will somebody else step up - to take the lead heading into the summer?

The Patriots entering the spring with 12 wide receiver on their roster, with nine of those players having a realistic case to make the team. There will be a lot of sorting out needed from this coaching staff.

An early indication of which way things are leaning may be by how many chances certain players get. Are last year's rookies - Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker - right in the mix as would usually be the case for players of their recent draft standing? Or, are players brought in by this coaching staff getting significantly more time?

Another player to watch will be Kendrick Bourne, who enters the spring seemingly on the bubble. Bourne had the best season of his eight-year NFL career with returning offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels during McDaniels' last stint in 2021.

However Bourne more recently tore his ACL, which cost him most of the 2023 season. Speaking to the media last week Bourne said he hopes to me more explosive now two years removed from that injury. That will be something we're watching for in these practices.

There's also the UDFA - Efton Chism from Eastern Washington. He had a solid showing during rookie minicamp and will be looking to build on that.

Through all of the roster turnover this offseason, linebacker Jahlani Tavai has stuck around to this point. That begs the question - what is the coaching staff's plan for him?

As an off-ball linebacker, Tavai is more of a downhill run-stopper at 6-foot-2, 255 pounds. The Patriots have moved away from that prototype at the linebacker position this offseason prioritizing athleticism and quickness over size and power, with Tavai as the lone holdover.

Is the plan for Tavai to be a specialized situational player against the run? Another option would be him go back to playing on the edge, where he had more success in past years as an early down player but where there is significant competition. Or, does he look like a player on the outside looking in at the final roster? These practices should give an early insight into that plan.

The 'emergency 3rd QB' rule has led to teams taking the third quarterback spot more seriously in recent years, whether it be keeping a third quarterback on the 53-man roster or being aggressive with the practice squad. After trading Joe Milton, that job is up in the air in New England.

Currently the Patriots only have three quarterbacks, with UDFA Ben Wooldridge joining Maye and Joshua Dobbs in the room. Will Wooldridge show he can make a real push for the third spot on the depth chart, or will the Patriots need to go looking for another quarterback before camp?

Last year the Patriots didn't really start their kicker battle until training camp. But, a new coaching staff might handle things differently.

Sixth-round pick Andres Borregales is expected to win the job, but he will have to beat out John Parker Romo. Just like last year we'll be counting both players kick-for-kick - will that begin this week or will we have to wait until July?