Team news: New England Patriots

Patriots RB Antonio Gibson (hip) is questionable for Sunday's game vs. Cincinnati, while TE Hunter Henry has been removed from the report and is good to go.

Related Players: Austin Hooper, Jaheim Bell

Outside of two rookies (Ja'Lynn Polk, Javon Baker), New England doesn't have much firepower, which could equate to Henry leading the team in targets in a handful of weeks. In what may have been a high-scoring affair, the Bengals might be missing both Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, which dampens most Patriots options.

Consider Henry a deep target in 2TE leagues.

RB Antonio Gibson relays that his hip responded well in Friday’s practice, and he is optimistic he’ll be ready to go for Sunday’s opening game barring an unexpected turn.

Related Players: Rhamondre Stevenson, JaMycal Hasty

Gibson doesn't have a ton of standalone value in an offense we're not excited about, but if he were to miss, it would boost Stevenson's usage, particularly in the receiving game.

Consider Stevenson an RB3 as he heads into Cincinnati.

Patriots HC Jerod Mayo just informed his team that Jacoby Brissett will be New England’s Week 1 starting quarterback vs. the Bengals.

The favorite to start in the battle with rookie QB Drake Maye now gets the Week 1 nod. But Maye’s time is coming.

Maye's mobility should help alleviate some of the pressure this below-average line will create, but we'll have to wait to see it. Brissett should be kept on waiver wires during his starting stint.

Jerod Mayo, on The Greg Hill Show, says Ja'Lynn Polk "has a chance to be a really good football player."

The news on Polk has been positive all summer. The post went on to say Mayo also praised Polk's leadership ability. Daniels shared his own opinion of Polk, saying, "I think the Patriots found a good one with Polk. He's just been so consistent this summer." Those who follow the team say Polk should be a top-three receiver from the start, with some saying he could even emerge as the team's WR1.

Patriots quarterback, and presumptive Week 1 starter, Jacoby Brissett suffered a shoulder injury during his lone drive of Sunday night’s preseason finale, at Washington. Coach Jerod Mayo sounded mostly positive after the game, but there was a potential caveat in Mayo’s comments.

“He would’ve been able to continue,” Mayo said, initially.

Related players: Drake Maye

Mayo did add that the team would have to see how Brissett is feeling Monday and that often times a player will be more sore the next day vs. in the moment. While Maye was seemingly making a move late in camp with his play, most around the team feel Brissett will be the Week 1 starter.

Patriots QB Jacoby Brissett is questionable to return to Sunday's preseason game against the Commanders with a shoulder injury.

Brissett went down early in the first quarter on a sack and was replaced by Drake Maye. Being it's the last preseason game, Brissett almost certainly won't be back. Maye led a drive that included going 5-for-6 for 71 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter. Brissett will likely start Week 1 against the Bengals, but it's only a matter of time before the No. 3 overall pick of April's draft takes the reigns.

The Patriots are nearing a decision on their starting QB. Jerod Mayo said the team should know who it’ll be Monday night.

“It’s still a competition and Jacoby (Brissett) is still QB1,” Mayo said.

Related Players: Drake Maye

The decision shouldn't impact typical redraft leagues, but if Maye can take the job from Week 1, he presents an interesting floor-play for Superflex/2QB leagues.

Ja’Lynn Polk likely will be one of the starting wide receivers when Week 1 arrives, at least until Kendrick Bourne returns from injury. Polk’s training camp hasn’t been spectacular or filled with other-worldly catches, but he has been consistent and done enough for the quarterbacks to trust him.

Demario Douglas probably has been the best wide receiver, but Polk isn’t far behind. He might start behind K.J. Osborn on the depth chart, but optimism is high around the second-round pick out of Washington.

Related players: Javon Baker

While optimism is high around Polk, it sounds like even if he doesn't get a starting job out of the gate, it should only be a matter of time. Meanwhile, fourth round pick Baker started strong, but looks to be further down the depth chart after a tough stretch, according to the rest of the story. Baker is dealing with drops in practice and running with the fourth-string QB at times. The story said he'll likely start as the team's WR4 or WR5.

Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye remain in competition to be the Patriots’ starting quarterback when the regular season starts against the Bengals on September 8.

That’s the word from Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo, who said today that he hasn’t decided whether Brissett or Maye will start Week 1, and won’t decide until after the preseason finale.

As the story said, it's a departure from what Mayo was saying for most of the offseason, when he has indicated that Brissett is the starter and Maye is still developing. But Mayo said today that he likes the progress Maye has made. Maye has certainly made a move over the past several days with his play, however, the story added Brissett is still probably the favorite to start Week 1.

Patriots HC Jerod Mayo says "the competition isn't over" for the starting quarterback job in Week 1.

Mayo said that Drake Maye has made strides, but he wants to see the whole operation be faster with Maye at QB.

Related Players: Jacoby Brissett

Maye showed some of his rushing ability when finding the end zone and 15 yards on four attempts. He's still a stay-away in a questionable offense for redraft leagues but would be more intriguing in 2QB/Superflex if we knew he was a good bet to start all 17 games.