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10 roster notes ahead of the Patriots’ preseason opener

Football is back. Well, preseason football anyway, as the Washington Redskins are in town to play the Patriots at Gillette Stadium Thursday night. It’s the first of four exhibition games leading up to the season opener on Sept. 9 against the Houston Texans.

Ahead of kickoff, here is a look at who is hurt, who is available, who has been playing well, who hasn’t looked good this week, and a couple of key position battles to watch:

u25a0 In at least one aspect, the Patriots appear to be trending in the right direction as defensive backs Nate Ebner, Jonathan Jones, and Cyrus Jones were removed from the physically unable to perform list earlier this week and were in full pads for the first time all summer, although they were limited participants and would not be expected to play Thursday.