FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- When the New England Patriots held their first open practice of training camp July 30, one roster-related question was how the team's backup linebacker competition would unfold.
The starters were set with Jerod Mayo, Dont'a Hightower and Jamie Collins, but there was little clarity on the competition for roster spots behind them. Brandon Spikes, a top candidate, was released in June and contributed to that uncertainty.
Thursday night's preseason opener brought some clarity to the position, with four-year veteran Jonathan Freeny emerging as a lead candidate. He started, played the entire first half, and finished by playing 56 of a possible 88 snaps.
Freeny's playing time, which was a result of Mayo and Hightower not taking any snaps, was one of the main things that stood out from analyzing snap counts from the game.
"It's great, getting out there and getting an opportunity to show what I can do on defense," said Freeny, who was primarily a special teams player with the Dolphins from 2012-2014.
LINEBACKER
Freeny -- 56 of 88
James Morris -- 41 of 88
Xzavier Dickson -- 29 of 88
L.J. Fort -- 18 of 88
Collins -- 15 of 88
Cameron Gordon -- 14 of 88
CORNERBACK
Robert McClain -- 66 of 88
Bradley Fletcher -- 53 of 88
Logan Ryan -- 52 of 88
Darryl Roberts -- 23 of 88
Daxton Swanson -- 21 of 88
Jimmy Jean -- 15 of 88
Malcolm Butler -- 15 of 88
SAFETY
Duron Harmon -- 52 of 88
Tavon Wilson -- 48 of 88
Jordan Richards -- 45 of 88
Nate Ebner -- 23 of 88
Patrick Chung -- 15 of 88
Devin McCourty -- 15 of 88
Brandon King -- 1 of 88
DEFENSIVE LINE
Geneo Grissom -- 65 of 88
Zach Moore -- 38 of 88
Rufus Johnson -- 36 of 88
Dominique Easley -- 32 of 88
Malcom Brown -- 32 of 88
A.J. Pataiali'i -- 27 of 88
Dekoda Watson -- 26 of 88
Antonio Johnson -- 26 of 88
Jabaal Sheard -- 23 of 88
Rob Ninkovich -- 16 of 88
Chandler Jones -- 15 of 88
Trey Flowers -- 14 of 88