Adapting to a new coach for the second time in as many years will be among the top priorities for the New England Patriots when they open their season against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday afternoon in Foxborough, Mass.
Mike Vrabel finds himself at the helm for New England, which parted ways with Jerod Mayo in January. Mayo went 4-13 in his lone season as Patriots coach.
Like Mayo, Vrabel was once a linebacker for New England. It’s been a long time since it was him suiting up, though, forcing him to be patient as he learns about a new generation of Patriots.
“I think I kind of have an idea (what the team is like), but I don’t know if you ever really know,” Vrabel said. “We’ll find out. But, I mean, I think that they like coming into work. I think they enjoy coming in here to work, and they kind of understand where we’re at here.”
New England will showcase plenty of new talent in Week 1, with free-agent acquisition Stefon Diggs headlining the receiving corps and rookie TreVeyon Henderson adding some extra juice to the backfield. The Patriots also bolstered their offensive line by selecting Will Campbell fourth overall in this year’s draft.
“There are new guys we’re playing with, so kind of building chemistry with them, probably, I’d say, in a game-like setting,” said New England quarterback Drake Maye, who is bracing for his sophomore season. “But other than that, I wouldn’t say nervous — I think just more excited and anxious.”
Las Vegas is also set to begin a new era.
Pete Carroll, who took the Seahawks to a pair of Super Bowls in his 14 seasons (2010-23) and also coached the Patriots (1997-99), will be making his debut on the Raiders sideline on Sunday. And it hasn’t taken long for his new team to earn his trust.
“It has been a big build-up,” Carroll said. “We’ve set in motion a whole approach and mentality in trying to develop the culture that we’d like to stand for, and it’s really been fun.
“The guys have been so open to receive new ideas, new thoughts and new ways of doing stuff. Been a lot of energy.”
Las Vegas also improved its backfield during the offseason, drafting running back Ashton Jeanty with the sixth overall pick. Jeanty rushed for 4,769 yards and 50 touchdowns in three seasons at Boise State and will face a Patriots defense that allowed opponents to run for 131.4 yards per game a season ago.
With the help of Carroll and Jeanty, Las Vegas is out to bounce back from a 4-13 campaign. Gunning for their second season-opening win in three years, the Raiders will likely be trying to expose a New England secondary that could be without Christian Gonzalez.
Gonzalez didn’t practice on Wednesday due to a hamstring injury, while fellow cornerback Charles Woods (concussion/groin) was a limited participant.
Everyone on Las Vegas practiced in full on Wednesday.
