FOXBORO, Mass. — The Patriots’ second joint practice against the Buccaneers was going just fine until Adrian Clayborn bull rushed Nate Solder into Tom Brady.
Solder rolled up on Brady and the Patriots quarterback went down to the ground, clutching his knee. Before the play, the practice was going along with more intensity than Tuesday’s lackadaisical joint session. There was a skirmish during a special teams play that was out of view from the media tent, but a fan passed along that it was Aqib Talib and Michael Adams that got into into it.
There were some quality battles between the Patriots’ wide receivers and Buccaneers’ cornerbacks and vice versa. Brady went 8-for-11 before the injury and 3-for-3 before coming off the field and into the practice bubble with trainers for good.
Mark Harrison and Rob Gronkowski were spotted in sweats, Daniel Fells, Jermaine Cunningham and Armond Armstead were not spotted and Marcus Cannon, Kevin Haslam, Tyronne Green, Dan Connolly, Alfonzo Dennard and Ras-I Dowling were in uniform, but not participating in drills.
OFFENSE
–Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins looked fantastic in one-on-one drills. Dobson made a leaping grab over Leonard Johnson and Thompkins put his foot in the dirt twice for an impressive double move on Johnthan Banks before pulling in the reception.
–Danny Amendola wasn’t his usual completely dominating self in one-on-ones. He got beat by Adams and Johnson.
-Fells was looked at by trainers on Tuesday. It wasn’t completely shocking to see him out of practice Wednesday. It meant more reps for Zach Sudfeld, Jake Ballard and Michael Hoomanawanui. Evan Landi got a lot of work with Tim Tebow. Landi looks to be struggling early (for him) in camp.
-Tebow really keys in on Quentin Sims on the practice field. Tebow actually looks at his best when he’s throwing to the tall wideout. Tebow looked good in 11-on-11s after Brady came out. It was his best sequence of practice all training camp.
DEFENSE
–Devin McCourty was still in the red jersey. It appeared he was not participating at the end of practice. Most eyes and focus were on Brady at that point, though. Duron Harmon and Steve Gregory were sharing snaps at free safety with Adrian Wilson playing strong safety without McCourty.
-Harmon was out playing punt protector during Wednesday’s practice. That’s usually Gregory’s job. We have also seen Tebow playing that role, though that was early in camp. Harmon was looking solid in 11-on-11s. He continues to be on time in plays to his area, which is something Patriots fans aren’t accustomed to out of a safety.
-Talib had a really solid practice. He was hounding Buccaneers’ receivers all day. He, Marquice Cole and Logan Ryan all came away with interceptions on the day.
-Cole has been one of the best defenders on the field the past two days. Things were looking bleak when Dennard and Dowling went down, but Cole has really picked up the slack. If Kyle Arrington has to kick outside at any point, Cole should look decent in the slot.
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