August’s hay is in the barn.
The New England Patriots closed out the preseason with a 37-13 loss to the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field on Thursday night.
Here’s a glance back on the summer finale before the NFL’s 53-man roster deadline hits home.
DeVito finds Williams for third TD in as many weeks
The third week of the preseason was once the dress rehearsal. It’s more so the sendoff now. Last year’s emergency third quarterback made the most of whatever was left.
Tommy DeVito completed 2-of-4 passes for 55 yards against the Browns and added
16 yards rushing. As All-Pro Drake Maye and nearly half of the Patriots’ roster observed in street clothes on Thursday, the new backup found a touchdown on his lone drive.
Taking the field in “12” personnel, the efficient opening possession for New England’s offense spanned six plays and 76 yards. A curl route to Kyle Williams on third down was quickly followed by a go route to the Washington State product for a 45-yard touchdown against man-to-man coverage. It marked the third scoring strike between the quarterback and wide receiver in as many August matchups.
It’d then be Behren Morton’s turn to learn. The rookie seventh-rounder out of Texas Tech went 18-of-28 through the air for 123 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions in relief.
Morton overthrew Nick DeGennaro for a would-be score, went back to No. 23 on a pick that instead became defensive pass interference, then tried once more to keep a play alive that was not there to the undrafted free agent. But he turned to another member of New England’s 2026 rookie class, Kyle Dixon, for a team-best eight receptions worth 71 yards.
Veteran August additions carry backfield
There’d be no Rhamondre Stevenson. There’d be no TreVeyon Henderson. But snaps remained behind New England’s tandem of lead running backs. Those snaps began with Lan Larison.
The 2025 redshirt out of UC Davis started Thursday’s 8 p.m. ET kickoff and stayed in to handle two carries for five yards and no catches on two targets. A drop in the flat was among them.
Hassan Haskins, an experienced, powerful, straightforward addition amid training camp, was in the backfield by the second series and had logged a tackle and a return on kickoffs by then. The 6-foot-2, 228-pound former All-Big Ten selection from Michigan turned in a team-high 38 rushing yards across 11 carries from there in his bid for the No. 3 role.
JaMycal Hasty, who has toured Foxborough through a trio of head coaches, returned with volume versus Cleveland by logging 34 scrimmage yards, including a long of 20 by ground. That was the case as rookie Jam Miller looked on.
Last tight end in
An active roster of 91 will be no more by 6 p.m. ET on Sunday. And in Cleveland, the battle to be left standing at tight end alongside captain Hunter Henry and rookie Eli Raridon rolled on with little fanfare.
Past UDFA C.J. Dippre, who had a throw ricochet off his cleat en route to an interception by Browns linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, got the start alongside a present UDFA and caught two passes for 21 yards. And while offering inline blocking and fullback flexibility, Tanner Arkin corraled his only target.
A holdover from the Super Bowl LX team in Jack Westover served as the final option and reeled in a pair of receptions for 10 yards. Along the same lines as the Patriots’ ground game, there’s a third spot depending on what the organization is looking for down the road.
Hudson, Lomu start on New England’s bookends
The Patriots added insurance in the middle with veteran free agent Greg Van Roten, whose NFL run has brought 105 starts, including 51 in a row, and back-to-back campaigns as an ironman. The 36-year-old projects as the top interior backup alongside a healthy Ben Brown come autumn. On the outside, however, there’s still depth to be built.
In the preseason finale, there stood James Hudson III at left tackle. The offseason arrival faced the Browns’ heat and briefly had to be checked out after coming out of a QB takedown grabbing his arm. No. 28 overall pick Caleb Lomu aligned right tackle until fellow 2026 draft pick Dametrious Crownover, who was subsequently flagged for holding, worked in across from Jack Conley.
It was more musical chairs on the heels of 2025 draft choice Marcus Bryant suffering injury during last week’s exhibition. The rest of Thursday night’s starting five included Mehki Butler at left guard, Jacob Rizy at center and Joe Michalski at right guard. Three sacks had been notched by the Browns by game’s end.
Gabriel unaffected in the pocket
New England’s starting front included Eric Gregory and Joshua Farmer in the middle of things. The defensive tackles were joined off the edges by No. 55 overall pick Gabe Jacas and Jesse Luketa, plus K.J. Britt and a team-high 11 tackles from rookie flier Namdi Obiazor off the ball.
Yet no sacks nor turnovers followed for Cleveland’s starter under center.
Quarterback Dillon Gabriel looked unaffected behind his pass protection as the Browns got out to a 27-13 lead at halftime. He headed into intermission 12-of-15 passing for 186 yards with three touchdowns. Two field goals were added over the initial handful of drives as the home offense averaged 7.7 yards per play, went 3-of-4 in the red zone and 2-of-2 with the goal line to go.
Long, speedy Browns rookie QB Taylen Green took the keys for the second half and turned his first scramble against the Patriots into a pickup of 30 with the uprights at his back. A 34-13 game it became after 15 plays and 98 yards.
Depth corners lose the edge
A signing from March, a waiver claim from last August, a draft choice from 2024 and another from 2026 could all be chasing the same couple spots behind Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis III and Marcus Jones. That chase continued in the summer finale. Uninspiringly.
Kindle Vildor was penalized for pass interference on the initial defensive series, keeping a third-and-9 going to the tune of 28 yards and a 7-0 lead as the veteran cornerback wrapped up Luke Floriea at the right pylon on the first of his two touchdown catches. Charles Woods also got lost in traffic on the Browns wide receiver’s initial score.
Marcellas Dial Jr. was the primary coverage on the next. And while Karon Prunty drew the start in the nickel package, too, the rookie by way of Kansas, North Carolina A&T and Wake Forest nearly gave up Cleveland’s third aerial strike before an official review changed the ruling.
The starting safeties on Thursday night were John Saunders Jr., whose angle in the open field set the stage for a 52-yard gain, and Dell Pettus. Jaylen Reed was not in uniform after being acquired from the Houston Texans in exchange for wide receiver Kayshon Boutte and a 2028 seventh-rounder.
Haack handles the specialist situation
An aforementioned rookie quarterback averaged 44.3 yards per punt for New England last week. It wasn’t by design. An injury sustained by incumbent Bryce Baringer during the second game of the preseason set the wheels in motion instead.
The signing of Matt Haack followed. In uniform for his 10th different NFL team on Thursday night, well-traveled specialist was called upon for four punts worth an average of 46.5 yards per. He finished with a long of 63, no touchbacks and three inside-the-20 efforts on the heels of New England working out fellow veteran free agent Jamie Gillan. A coffin corner downed by linebacker Chad Muma two yards from the doorstep was among them.
The holding operation stayed inside the uprights, too. Sophomore Patriots kicker Andy Borregales went 2-of-2 field goals and 1-of-1 on extra points at Huntington Bank Field. Those attempts from range began with a 26-yarder and continued with a 33-yarder prior to halftime.
