The New England Patriots have been accustomed to having joint practices under Bill Belichick, a tradition that New England plans to continue under Jerod Mayo. Which team will the opponent be for their joint practice? A familiar opponent.
Per ESPN, the Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles are in the works for a joint practice. The location is to be determined, but the Eagles and Patriots last held joint practices in Philadelphia in 2021. That was Eagles' head coach Nick Sirianni's first season, part of several joint practices between the two teams over the years.
Philadelphia hosted New England for joint practices in 2013, then the Patriots hosted the Eagles for joint practices a year later. This was when Belichick was coaching New England and Chip Kelly was coaching Philadelphia. Of course, the Eagles and Patriots have met in the Super Bowl twice. New England beat Philadelphia in Super Bowl XXXIX (2005) and Philadelphia beat New England in Super Bowl LII (2018).
While the location has yet to be announced, Mayo reportedly prefers one practice instead of two to avoid fighting between players on the second day. A Patriots joint practice with the Eagles also means Philadelphia is a preseason opponent for New England.
The NFL preseason schedule is expected to be announced Wednesday when the regular season schedule is announced.
