Tag: Tyquan Thornton

Patriots’ top 10 offensive players in Week 6, per PFF grades

Here are the Patriots’ top offensive performers in Week 6, per PFF grades.

The New England Patriots showed more offensive fight against the Las Vegas Raiders, which isn’t surprising considering they were facing another bad football team.

Coming into the game, the Patriots hadn’t scored a touchdown since their Week 3 meeting with the New York Jets. They’d been beaten and flat out humiliated by the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints by a combined 72-3 scoring margin.

But then the football scheduling gods felt pity on them enough to put a road trip to Las Vegas on their itinerary for a matchup with the Raiders.

The offense still stunk, for the most part, but they finally moved the ball and scored two touchdowns on the legs of running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Rhamondre Stevenson.

Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne also had a huge game leading the Patriots with 10 catches for 89 receiving yards. Backup quarterback Malik Cunningham got a taste of regular season action, but he wasn’t out there long enough for it mean anything.

Here are the top Patriots offensive players in Week 6, per Pro Football Focus grades.

Patriots make multiple roster moves ahead of Sunday’s game vs Raiders

It was a busy day for the Patriots before their big matchup with the Raiders on Sunday

It was a busy Saturday for the New England Patriots ahead of an important Week 6 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

The team is sitting at 1-4 and last place in the AFC East division. So there’s no denying the desperation within the Patriots’ organization heading into a must-win game against the Raiders.

One of the first orders of business was promoting rookie quarterback Malik Cunningham to the main roster on a new three-year deal, reportedly. Cunningham is a versatile player that can help the Patriots at quarterback, receiver and/or special teams.

The team also announced that four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Matthew Judon and offensive lineman Tyrone Wheatley Jr. were both being placed on injured reserve.

With two players going on IR, the corresponding moves to fill those roster positions were practice squad elevations for wide receiver Jalen Reagor and defensive lineman Jeremiah Pharms Jr.

Also, the team announced second-year wide receiver Tyquan Thornton was being activated off IR.

This could be viewed as a big opportunity for players like Thornton, Cunningham, Reagor and Pharms to show their worth with the rest of the team struggling. At this point, everyone could be on thin ice for the Patriots.

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Report: Patriots WR Tyquan Thornton designated for return from IR

Tyquan Thornton has reportedly been designated to return for the Patriots

After missing the first five games of the season, New England Patriots wide receiver Tyquan Thornton is reportedly designated to return from injured reserve.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the news on Tuesday.

There has been hope since the start of the season that Thornton would break out in his second year with the Patriots. The 2022 second-round draft pick out of Baylor had a quiet rookie season with 22 catches for 247 yards and two touchdowns.

One of the biggest issues facing the Patriots offense is the inability of receivers to consistently create separation. Rookie Demario Douglas was the team’s best route-runner, but he’s currently in concussion protocol, along with veteran wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Thornton’s arrival couldn’t have come at a better time for the Patriots. He has the size and blistering speed to be a threat on the outside. The potential is clearly there for him to make an impact.

But as the 2023 Patriots have clearly shown, there’s a big gap between possibility and probability.

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Patriots WR Tyquan Thornton back at practice on Tuesday

Patriots WR Tyquan Thornton was back on the practice field on Tuesday

New England Patriots wide receiver Tyquan Thorton returned to practice on Tuesday. That likely means he is close to returning from injured reserve.

The second-year wide receiver was placed on IR on August 30. He was hurt during joint practices against the Green Bay Packers over the summer. This was the second season in a row that he started the year on IR.

Thornton recorded 45 catches for 247 yards and two touchdowns last year. He began to play at a high level towards the end of the season. He recorded three catches for 60 yards and a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins on New Year’s Day.

The Patriots desperately need depth at the wide receiver position. Although Thornton has yet to make a substantial impact when healthy, this could be an opportunity for a fresh start and a chance for him to bounce back.

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5 Patriots players eligible to return from IR/PUP lists this week

Five players on IR/PUP lists are eligible to return for the Patriots this week

There isn’t much hope for the New England Patriots on the injury front these days.

They just lost two of their best defensive players, Christian Gonzalez and Matthew Judon, in the same football game. All of their starting cornerbacks are out with injuries, and right tackle is a revolving door of random bodies just trying to make it work.

The good news is the Patriots are past the four-game mark, which means multiple players on injured reserve and the physically unable to perform lists are eligible to return this week.

Any return would feel like a boost at this point with the Patriots sitting at 1-3 and looking up at a seemingly impossible hill to climb in the AFC East division.

Here are the five players eligible to return for the Patriots this week.

Things aren’t looking good for Patriots’ 2022 draft class

One year later, the Patriots’ 2022 NFL draft class is in rough shape.

The New England Patriots’ 2022 NFL draft class was full of promise after Year 1.

Fans saw a Day 1 starter in Cole Strange and saw promise in Pierre Strong Jr, Tyquan Thornton, Bailey Zappe and Jack Jones, while Marcus Jones was an All-Pro returner and spark plug for a dormant 2022 Patriots team.

The Patriots’ offensive draft picks were selected with a west coast zone offense in mind, which was one that the team tried to implement under Matt Patricia. There was hope that quarterback Mac Jones would thrive in a system like the one San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan perfected.

The issue was the Patriots lacked the personnel and coaching to actually do it. With only one outside runner like Strong Jr., one agile lineman in Strange and one deep threat in Thornton, the Patriots were relying on rookie players and a rookie offensive coordinator to try to implement a unique system.

Now that Bill O’Brien has returned as the offensive coordinator, the Patriots moved on from Strong for tackle depth, while also cutting 2022 picks Chasen Hines, Bailey Zappe, Andrew Stueber and Kevin Harris.

Harris, Stueber, and Zappe all returned to the practice squad.

Thornton, was placed on injured reserve after making the initial 53-man roster, meaning he will have now missed eight games in his first two seasons without showing much production. The Patriots drafted two receivers that fit their offensive mold better in 2023 with rookies Kayshon Boutte and Demario Douglas, both of whom have already flashed potential.

They are reportedly not happy with Zappe as their No. 2 quarterback, and they would like to find a new veteran backup that fits the offense more after Zappe’s abysmal summer under Bill O’Brien.

The team would still like to work with Zappe to develop parts of his game, but they have in essence moved on from the Year 2 quarterback who was pegged as the No. 2 option as early as Week 1 in 2022.

Strange has actually been really good, and he also added some power to play in the system. I believe the team likes him, and he could stick around long-term.

But things could be different for Thornton, who has now missed eight games in two years. Boutte and Douglas have already produced on the field, and if Thornton starts slow, there is a possibility the team could look to move him at the trade deadline, which would signify a change in their offensive philosophy.

In 2023, more evidence pointed to this as the Patriots went and drafted three lineman, who all fit a power system. Atonio Mafi is a Mike Onwenu clone, and Jake Andrews has a similar skill set to Ted Karras, while Sidy Sow resembles the depth tackles the Patriots typically like.

Those additions coupled with the ones in the receiver room prove that the Patriots offense has a developmental pipeline more aligned with O’Brien.

There is a chance by the end of the year that Strange, Marcus Jones, Jack Jones and Sam Roberts are the only players left from the class on the active roster. It’s a sudden and disappointing turnaround for a draft class that initially seemed full of promise.

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Report: Patriots WR Tyquan Thornton placed on IR with shoulder injury

Tyquan Thornton is reportedly being placed on injured reserve.

For a second straight year, the New England Patriots are placing wide receiver Tyquan Thornton on injured reserve with a shoulder injury to start the season.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Mike Reiss reported the news on Wednesday.

It’s a disappointing turn of events for Thornton, who is hoping to bounce back after an underwhelming rookie season. After missing the first four games with a collarbone injury, he returned in Week 5 of the 2022 regular season, where he went on to haul in 22 catches for 247 yards and two touchdowns in 13 games as a rookie.

There was hope that he would emerge as one of the team’s key offensive playmakers with a more experienced play-caller in Bill O’Brien running the show. Instead, it was an up-and-down showing from the 2022 second-round draft pick in training camp and the preseason.

Those struggles couldn’t have come at a worse time with rookie sixth-round draft picks Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte making waves. Thornton’s absence now gives both of the young receivers an opportunity to surpass him on the depth chart.

Thornton will be eligible to return for the Patriots’ Week 5 meeting with the New Orleans Saints on October 8.

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Madden 24: See the ratings for entire Patriots roster

Did Madden get the Patriots’ ratings right this year?

We are closing in on the start of the 2023 regular season, which means only one thing: It’s Madden season.

With the recent release of EA’s “Madden NFL 24”, the New England Patriots weren’t given much respect at all as far as the player ratings are concerned. Sadly, that’s what happens when a team is an absolute mess and misses the playoffs.

But there is hope for things to be better this time around with all of the new additions to the roster, including the return of Bill O’Brien as offensive coordinator. The team also made the big splash signing at running back with former two-time NFL leading rusher Ezekiel Elliott joining an offensive backfield that already had burgeoning star rusher Rhamondre Stevenson.

Elliott isn’t listed as a Patriots running back on this list, but that will surely change in a future update. For now, let’s take a look at the overall rating for every Patriots player on the Madden 24 roster.

Winners and losers from Patriots’ loss to Texans in preseason opener

Who were the winners and losers in the Patriots’ preseason opener?

A sluggish offensive performance ended in the New England Patriots getting pounded at home in a 20-9 loss to the Houston Texans in Thursday’s preseason opener.

It wasn’t the best of showings from the Patriots, but it was also the first of three preseason games. There’s no need in hitting the panic button just yet.

There were some serious positives to take away from the team’s effort. One rookie defensive player had Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud running for his life, while a rookie offensive player scored the one and only touchdown in the game for the Patriots.

Let’s take a look at the winners and losers from Thursday night’s game.

WATCH: Tyquan Thornton extends drive with incredible leaping catch

Tyquan Thornton climbed the ladder with this incredible catch.

New England Patriots wide receiver Tyquan Thornton climbed the ladder and made an incredible catch in traffic in Thursday night’s preseason game against the Houston Texans.

Thornton has had a roller coaster career to this point.

After dealing with injury issues last year, the second-year wideout looks to make an impact in 2023. New England has added wide receiver depth, making this an important preseason for Thornton.

The former Baylor star made an impact early on Thursday night, when hauling in a leaping catch on third down. The catch went for 27 yards on a play where he showed off his size and athleticism.

New England could not score on the drive, but it was a positive drive for Thornton, who is looking to assert himself in the wide receiver room.

Thornton’s progress will be important as the preseason continues. The Patriots are counting on him to break out as the next go-to outside receiver for Mac Jones.

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