This will be a unique summer for NFL teams for a number of reasons.
One of them is with no preseason games, or even joint practices, it will be harder to evaluate players, especially at positions holding competitions for starting jobs. Relating to the Patriots, that is at quarterback with Cam Newton and Jarrett Stidham.
So, how will they do things?
"There’s no question the more players that you’re trying to rep and get, let's just call them similar looks, the more difficult it can become," offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said Friday via video conference. "You’ve got to be creative.