Patriots to practice at University of Arizona following Week 14 game against Cardinals

The New England Patriots will not return home following their Week 14 game against the Arizona Cardinals. Instead, they will merely relocate two hours down the road from the Cardinals’ home arena in Glendale.

According to a report by Michael Lev of tucson.com, the Patriots will prepare for their Week 15 road matchup versus the Las Vegas Raiders at the University of Arizona. While no schedule has been set just yet, the belief is that they will closely follow their usual practice routine with a session each day between Wednesday and Friday.

The Patriots are no strangers to road trips of that kind. They did it several times through the years, including most recently in 2020 between a set of road games in Los Angeles.

Staying at the University of Arizona, which is located in Tucson, makes sense for New England. Not only does the school offer the proper accommodation, it also has several ties to the Patriots organization.

Head coach Jedd Fisch served as the team’s quarterbacks coach during the aforementioned 2020 season; he left the gig in late December to fill the open position in Arizona. He also brought with him Patriots Hall of Famer and former Wildcats linebacker Tedy Bruschi, who is now serving as senior advisor to the head coach.

Additionally, short-time Patriots wide receiver Darren Andrews is on Fisch’s staff as an offensive analyst.

As far as New England’s current roster is concerned, two of the team’s players have ties to the university. Kicker Nick Folk (2003-06) and practice squad running back J.J. Taylor (2016-19) both spent their college careers in Tucson.