FOXBORO, Mass. — It was another good day at the office for three New England Patriots pass rushers as they schooled Jacksonville Jaguars offensive linemen during joint practices.
The Patriots held their second joint practice with the Jaguars on Tuesday. The two teams have a walkthrough Wednesday, which is closed to the public, before their preseason game Thursday.
Here’s everything we observed from Tuesday’s session.
— Quarterback Tom Brady went 14-of-21 in 11-on-11 drills and 20-of-28 overall in team drills. Jimmy Garoppolo was 3-of-3 in 11-on-11 drills and 9-of-10 overall in team drills. Jacoby Brissett went 4-of-7 with an interception in 11-on-11 drills. When Brissett’s third-team unit couldn’t convert on fourth down, the entire offense — plus head coach Bill Belichick — did pushups.
— Tight end Rob Gronkowski sure looked like himself to us. He had three receptions during team drills, including two touchdowns, and three more catches during 1-on-1s. Wide receivers Julian Edelman and Brandin Cooks and tight end Dwayne Allen also had touchdowns.
— Jaguars quarterbacks Blake Bortles and Chad Henne went 8-of-21 overall in 11-on-11 drills. Cornerback Malcolm Butler had two pass breakups during team drills. Linebacker Jonathan Freeny, cornerback Stephon Gilmore and safety Duron Harmon also got their hands on footballs. Butler had a solid day overall but was beat twice in 1-on-1 drills.
— Tight end Sam Cotton dropped two passes. Running back Rex Burkhead and wide receivers Malcolm Mitchell, Julian Edelman and Tony Washington had one drop apiece.
— Undrafted linebacker Harvey Langi and undrafted defensive tackle Adam Butler again stood out in 1-on-1 drills. Langi went 4-for-4, beating Jeremiah Poutasi and Malcolm Bunche twice apiece. Langi went against Poutasi twice in a row and knocked him on his backside on the second rep. He beat Bunche with a sudden spin move. Butler went 3-for-3 in the 1-on-1 drills. Don’t be surprised if Butler and Langi earn first-team reps in Thursday’s preseason opener.
— Defensive end Trey Flowers also won all three of his matchups. Rookie defensive end Deatrich Wise beat offensive tackle Cam Robinson twice in a row. Wise went 3-of-6 overall.
— Cornerbacks Justin Coleman, Stephon Gilmore, Malcolm Butler, Jonathan Jones, Dwayne Thomas and Kenny Moore and safety Patrick Chung all had pass breakups in 1-on-1 drills.
—Â Wide receiver Matthew Slater, cornerback Eric Rowe, linebackers Trevor Bates and Shea McClellin and offensive tackle Antonio Garcia were absent from practice. Rowe, Bates, McClellin and Garcia are new to the absentee list.
— With McClellin out, rookie defensive end Derek Rivers received time with the first-team defense. So, that’s four rookie front-seven players receiving first team reps — Rivers, Langi, Butler and Wise.
— Linebacker Dont’a Hightower (physically unable to perform list), defensive tackle Alan Branch (PUP) and offensive tackle Andrew Jelks (non-football injury list) were present but wore sweats and worked on conditioning on the lower side field.
— Left tackle Nate Solder, safety David Jones, tight end James O’Shaughnessy, defensive tackle Vincent Valentine, wide receiver Cody Hollister and running back Mike Gillislee were limited and also worked on the lower side field. Valentine is new to that list.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
