Patriots to test offensive line against Panthers

Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots have been busy in the week leading up to Friday night?s preseason game against the Carolina Panthers. Coming off a 26-24 comeback win over the New Orleans Saints, Belichick made moves to trim down the roster and get more competition on the offensive line.
On Wednesday, the Patriots acquired offensive tackle Michael Williams from the Detroit Lions for an undisclosed future draft pick. The 24-year-old from the University of Alabama was drafted in the seventh round (211th overall) as a tight end by the Lions in 2013. After missing his entire rookie season because of injury, the 6-foot-6-inch, 304-pound Williams was converted to tackle and spent all of 2014 on Detroit?s practice squad.
Belichick wouldn?t expand much on Williams? role with the Patriots.
?We like his makeup, like his skills, and we?ll see how he fits,” he said.
Belichick also talked about the rest of the offensive line and the importance of getting game-time reps together.
?It?s definitely helpful,” he said. “I know in talking to those guys, it?s a great learning experience for them. It?s different than practice. But again, we have to consider the management of our team and we also have to consider the depth of our team and the evaluation of multiple players. It?s a balance there of giving the right amount so that we can evaluate the team properly, get some execution and timing, and have our different combinations of depth, which eventually we will probably need somewhere along the line.”
Belichick also made a couple moves to trim down the roster. On Thursday, the Patriots waived offensive tackle Mark Asper and linebacker Cameron Gordon, and also released veteran defensive tackle Antonio Johnson.
Asper is a former sixth-round pick of the Buffalo Bills out of Oregon, but was released after one season and claimed on waivers by the Minnesota Vikings.
Gordon, a 24-year-old rookie free agent out of Michigan, signed with New England in 2014 but spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve. He was released on May 18, 2015, but he resigned with the team before camp.
Johnson, 30, has played six seasons in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans. He had spent the past year out of football before signing with the Patriots on Feb. 6.
In a conference call with the media, Belichick talked about the approach going into the third week of the preseason.
?We?re kind of moving through as close to a regular season week as we?re going to get here in the preseason,” he said. “I think that process is moving along and I think this will be a good opportunity for us against Carolina. They?re a good football team, a really physical team, very good fundamentally, sound technically, don?t make many mistakes, so I think this will really be a good test for us in terms of dealing with their physicality, their overall playing strength as a team on both sides of the line of scrimmage and dealing with a real set of mobile quarterbacks.”
Belichick was also asked about some of his other players, such as linebacker Jamie Collins and his role as an emerging leader on the team.
?I think definitely Jamie has got good leadership, good work ethic, and he?s really a part of everything we do defensively,” he said. “He?s such a versatile player. He?s in on every different package that we have; every personnel group. He?s a versatile player and a smart player, but I think like all of us, it?s about consistency. It?s that time of year we all need to work on that. Skill-wise, really good and he does a lot of things well.”
With the Patriots heading into Carolina this week to face the Panthers, Belichick wrapped up the conference call by answering a question about facing mobile quarterbacks. The Panthers have two:Cam Newton and Joe Webb.
?We?re going to face mobile quarterbacks this year, there?s no doubt about that,” he said. “We saw some of that with (Aaron) Rodgers, he extended some plays, (Drew) Brees to a lesser extent. Newton,