The New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans held two joint practices before their preseason matchup — and it involved many familiar faces.
New England unloaded some talented players onto the Titans’ roster in the last few years, and Malcolm Butler is one of those guys. Butler went from an undrafted free agent — to the hero of Super Bowl XLIX. Therefore, he’s very familiar with the work that it takes to become elite in the NFL, and he also knows the Patriots’ system very well.
During joint practices, he quickly took notice to some of the under-the-radar wide receivers that the Patriots have on the roster. He gave Gunner Olszewski and Jakobi Meyers some praise after Thursday’s practice — even though he didn’t know their names.
“They’re tough, especially that No. 9 and 16,” Butler said. “Those guys are tough. I don’t know their names, but I know their organization. They only want hard-working guys. Guys don’t give poor effort. And the expectation is real high, especially when you’ve got (Tom Brady) back there. I didn’t take any one of them for granted. I gave them everything I had.”
No. 9 is Olszewski, who came to the Patriots as an undrafted Division-II cornerback that quickly converted to wide receiver. Meyers wears the No. 16, and he has been incredible for New England this offseason. Meyers went from a practice phenom — to the player that recorded six receptions, 69 yards and two touchdowns in his first preseason matchup against the Detroit Lions.
The Patriots currently are dealing with a slew of injuries within the wide receiver and tight end corps. Consequently, they will head into their Saturday preseason game with Olszewski, Meyers, Braxton Berrios, Dontrelle Inman, Ryan Davis and Damoun Patterson on hand.
