Sports Final: Can Jacob Hollister Or Austin Carr Make The Patriots Roster?
BOSTON (CBS) -- With just about every starter sitting out the Patriots' preseason opener on Thursday night, it gave some of the bubble players a chance to shine as they try to earn a roster spot.
No one stood out more than tight end Jacob Hollister, who led the way with seven receptions for 116 yards on nine targets against the Jaguars. Wide receiver Austin Carr was also impressive, adding five catches for 44 yards and a touchdown just before halftime.
But while Hollister and Carr shined in preseason game No. 1, do they have a real shot at making the Patriots' roster? Carr has a crowded group of talented receivers ahead of him on the depth chart, and even though there are injury concerns with Rob Gronkowski and Dwayne Allen, Hollister remains a longshot at tight end.
That duo's chances at surviving the roster cutdown at the end of the month was one of the many topics discussed on Sunday night's Sports Final on WBZ-TV, with Mike Reiss and Christian Fauria joining Dan Roche to break down Hollister and Carr's their odds.
"I would say they have a chance, but their next step has to be doing it with Tom Brady at quarterback and against first-string defensive players on the other team," said Reiss. "To me, they took a great first step. Now it's whether they can take the next step."
Fauria sees both as practice squad players, though he admits that Carr should have a future in the NFL at some point.
"Carr looks like a pretty good little player. There is no doubt he can catch the football, but everything is vanilla and everything is basic," Fauria said of Thursday's opener. "You're talking about guys like [Danny] Amendola, [Julian] Edelman, Gronk, Dwayne Allen, Brandin Cooks. Where does he fit? He's a practice squad guy, and if he was thrown into the fire right now I think he would struggle.
"That's not to say he doesn't have a future in the league, because I think he does," Fauria added.
Watch the full segment in the video above, and see what the panel thinks of Dion Lewis' job security in the New England backfield in the video below:
Tune in to Sports Final and Sports Final OT every Sunday night at 11:35 p.m. on WBZ-TV!
