FOXBORO, Mass. — Malcolm Butler’s two-week benching didn’t slow him down, as the young cornerback shined during the second day of New England Patriots mandatory minicamp.
Butler, wearing a sleeveless shirt and one long red sleeve, made multiple pass breakups during Wednesday’s session. Butler is seeing a ton of snaps in Patriots team drills, and he’s making the most of them.
The Patriots were high on Butler coming into the 2015 offseason, and it doesn’t appear the Super Bowl hero’s place on the depth chart was affected by his late arrival to organized team activities.
— A fully healthy offseason is allowing Rob Gronkowski to dominate minicamp. It’s almost not fair when Gronkowski is targeted over some of the Patriots’ inexperienced defensive backs. Gronkowski continues to see work with backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo as the Patriots could be preparing for Tom Brady’s looming four-game Deflategate suspension.
— Brady completed 14 of 23 passes in 11-on-11 drills and 6 of 6 in 7-on-7s. Danny Amendola continues to stand out in team drills, catching six passes.
— Garoppolo completed 16 of 25 passes in 11-on-11s and went 4 of 6 with an interception in 7-on-7s. Julian Edelman appears comfortable with Garoppolo as they hooked up on four completions.
— New third-string QB Matt Flynn completed 7 of 10 passes in 11-on-11s.
— Wide receiver Brian Tyms had a tough series with Garoppolo under center, dropping two passes and fumbling a completion.
— Cornerback Logan Ryan and rookie Darryl Roberts continue to see a lot of reps in team drills, and they’re making the most of them. Roberts had a pass breakup on Tyms during 11-on-11s. Ryan made a pass breakup with Brady under center. Safety Devin McCourty intercepted a Garoppolo pass. The cornerback position still seems wide open, as Robert McClain also is seeing a fair share of reps. Roberts could be this year’s Butler if he continues to shine through training camp and the preseason.
— Jake Bequette made his first team-drill catch of the offseason, thrown by Brady. Bequette exclusively is seeing action at tight end after converting from defensive end.
— James White looks comfortable running deep routes out of the backfield. He went up for a deep pass down the sideline but couldn’t come down with it, however.
— With Jamie Collins, Dont’a Hightower, Jerod Mayo and Dane Fletcher out of practice, linebackers James Morris and Jonathan Freeny are seeing an increase in reps. Jabaal Sheard is getting valuable time on the edge with Chandler Jones out.
Thumbnail photo via Brace Hemmelgarn/USA TODAY Sports Images
