FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots took it easy Tuesday before heading to West Virginia for joint practices with the New Orleans Saints.
The Patriots held an abbreviated, unpadded walk-through at Gillette Stadium. Jimmy Garoppolo took all reps at quarterback with Tom Brady absent and Ryan Lindley merely looking on.
— Garoppolo completed 9 of 14 passes with two interceptions during the brief session, which only lasted an hour. Linebacker Jamie Collins leapt up and picked off a Garoppolo pass near the goal line. Safety Tavon Wilson also pulled in an interception that careened off wide receiver Brian Tyms.
— Wideout Danny Amendola led the Patriots with three receptions as the first team stayed on the field for all half-speed 11-on-11 drills. Tight end Rob Gronkowski had two receptions, and fullback James Develin, wide receivers Brian Tyms and Brandon Gibson, and running back Brandon Bolden each had one.
— Brady; wide receiver Brandon LaFell; cornerback Darryl Roberts; linebacker L.J. Fort; offensive linemen Ryan Wendell and Josh Kline; defensive linemen Rufus Johnson; Trey Flowers, Joe Vellano and Chris Jones, and tight end Jake Bequette were the lone absences at practice. It was Fort and Kline’s first absences of training camp.
— Wide receiver Julian Edelman spent the first part of practice with his teammates on the main field before leaving midway through to work on conditioning. That was a slight increase in work for Edelman, though it might have been because the practice was a light walk-through.
— Wide receiver Aaron Dobson, offensive linemen Caylin Hauptmann and Bryan Stork, tight end Scott Chandler, running back Travaris Cadet, and linebackers Eric Martin and Dane Fletcher were spotted at practice but only during conditioning drills. Bill Belichick went down to the lower practice field to watch them work early in practice. He might have been deciding if they were healthy enough to travel to West Virginia.
— Guard Tre’ Jackson was back at practice after he was carted off the field Monday. Jackson reportedly went down with full-body cramps.
— The Patriots continue to shuffle around their secondary, but the primary grouping Tuesday was Duron Harmon, Patrick Chung, Tarell Brown, Malcolm Butler and Devin McCourty.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
