Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has opted not to have any of his defensive players wear an in-helmet radio for tonight’s game against the Baltimore Ravens at Foxboro.

The Providence Journal / Gretchen Ertl

FOXBORO — When the New England Patriots take the field tonight for their preseason opener against Baltimore, they’ll do it without any of their defensive players wearing the in-helmet radio.

“No, we won’t use it during the game,” Bill Belichick confirmed on Tuesday. “You can put that in the headlines. No, we won’t use it.”

During the owners’ meetings in Atlanta this April, the resolution to allow one defensive player at a time to wear a helmet was passed with a 25-7 vote (24 votes were needed), and the Patriots, who had voted against the measure last year, voted for it this year.

But after the Spygate fiasco, New England basically had to vote for the measure in order to avoid yet another public relations nightmare.

Still, Belichick maintained that there were issues with the system; only one defensive player at a time can be on the field with the radio helmet, and teams can only designate two players a game with the helmet. For teams like the Ravens and Chicago, which have a middle linebacker that is on the field for virtually every — if not every — snap of the game, it is easy to have Ray Lewis or Brian Urlacher wear the helmet and thus eliminate the hand signals the Patriots were charged with trying to steal.

The Pats’ defensive system calls for multiple personnel groupings, and keeping track of who is and isn’t on the field and is or isn’t wearing the helmet would likely be a hassle.

Belichick didn’t totally rule out using the helmets, but given his statements on them over the last week or so, don’t count on it.

“We will do what is best for the football team,” Belichick said. “That’s all I can say. I wouldn’t make any promises on what we will or won’t do. We will just do what we think is best.”

Some words for the wise

The Patriots yesterday sent out a parking and traffic advisory in advance of tonight’s game.

In a release, the team wrote: “Fans who are planning on attending the game are encouraged to allow plenty of time for their commute to the stadium. Drivers not attending the game are encouraged to seek alternate routes, avoiding Route 1 near Gillette Stadium on Thursday afternoon and evening. All commuters are encouraged to be patient.

“The parking lots at Gillette Stadium open at 3:30 p.m. Gates to the stadium open at 5:30. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

“Fans should be aware that most parking is now located across Route 1 from the stadium and that parking is limited on the stadium side of Route 1. The largest, most efficiently accessed stadium parking lots are the P10 and P11 lots, located directly across Route 1 from Gillette Stadium. Fans arriving from the south are strongly encouraged to use the left lanes to access P11 or P10.”

smanza@projo.com