FOXBORO, Mass. — There were no fisticuffs in the final joint practice of the week before the New England Patriots and Chicago Bears square off in Week 2 of the preseason.
The Patriots and Bears held a lackadaisical half-speed practice in shells and shorts as to not expend too much energy the day before a game. There were fights Monday and Tuesday at Patriots-Bears joint practices, but the teams played nice Wednesday.
Here’s what we saw in the final day of Patriots training camp:
— Wide receiver Julian Edelman, as usual, gained impressive separation during 2-on-2 drills early in practice.
— Patriots rookie linebacker Elandon Roberts intercepted a pass during 7-on-7 drills. Rookie cornerback V’Angelo Bentley had a pass breakup during 2-on-2s.
— Wide receivers Malcolm Mitchell, Danny Amendola and Keshawn Martin, running backs D.J. Foster and Donald Brown, defensive end Rob Ninkovich and tight end Bryce Williams left practice early to work on conditioning on a separate field. Don’t expect to see those seven players, running back Dion Lewis, linebacker Shea McClellin, guards Tre’ Jackson and Jonathan Cooper, offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer, tight end Rob Gronkowski or defensive end Jabaal Sheard play Thursday. Cornerback Logan Ryan, who continues to wear a red non-contact jersey but has been a full participant in practice, also likely won’t play.
— Quarterback Tom Brady, wide receivers Edelman and Chris Hogan, safety Nate Ebner, linebacker Jonathan Freeny and defensive tackles Anthony Johnson and Frank Kearse could make their preseason debuts Thursday. Edelman and Hogan worked alone with Brady near the end of practice near the end zone.
— Strength and conditioning coach Moses Cabrera worked off to the side with Nate Ebner, who returned from the Olympics, during 11-on-11 walk-throughs.
— Defensive tackle Anthony Johnson saw a lot of work with the first-team defense during 11-on-11 walk-throughs. He didn’t play last Thursday against the Saints in the Patriots’ preseason opener. He’s an interesting player, because he’s by far the smallest-statured defensive tackle on the Patriots.
— Patriots cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc had an interception and linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill broke up a pass late during 11-on-11 drills.
— Hogan and tight end Martellus Bennett were heavily involved in a half-speed two-minute drill late in practice. Hogan caught three passes from Brady. Bennett caught four passes total, one from Brady and three from Jimmy Garoppolo.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
