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Patriots get ready for first preseason game

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Football is back. Thursday night is the first preseason game for the New England Patriots as they take on the Washington Football Team. This will also be the first time that fans will be inside Gillette Stadium since January of 2020.

Gillette holds more than 60,000 fans. The game isn’t sold out, so it’s unclear how many people will be there, but it will likely be the largest crowd the stadium has had since Tom Brady was still on the team.

In order to keep people safe, Gillette has made several changes. You don’t need to bring much, Gillette has moved to mobile ticketing and the concessions only accept electronic payments, no cash. There are even cash-to-card machines inside. The bathroom fixtures are touchless. Fans don’t have to be vaccinated to go, but those who haven’t gotten their shot are asked to wear their mask.

If you missed a play, don’t worry. There is a new, massive video scoreboard in the south end zone to watch replays.

Thursday’s game is the first and only preseason game at Gillette this season. The NFL took away the fourth preseason game and added a regular-season game. That means the team has less time to look at all the players and whittle down to the 53-man roster. Cam Newton will likely get the start, but fans could also see perhaps the future of the team, rookie quarterback Mac Jones could get some decent playing time in his first NFL preseason game. 

Some familiar faces will be back, including Dont’a Hightower, who opted out of last season. Trent Brown and Kyle Van Noy are back on the team. But there are also some big names that won’t be on the field--including one of their big off-season acquisitions Hunter Henry, who injured his shoulder. Stephon Gilmore is also on the PUP list.

After Thursday, the Patriots have just two more preseason games against Philadelphia and the New York Giants. Their first regular-season game is one month from Thursday.


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