FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots have been practicing since Thursday, but training camp officially began for the linemen Saturday morning.
The pads came out and the hitting began Day 3 of training camp. That means one-on-one and full contact team drills were on full display for the media and 10,000 fans in attendance.
Day 3 also marked the first time running back LeGarrette Blount, previously on the non-football injury list, and defensive tackle Dominique Easley practiced. Blount didn’t look like he lost a step after sitting out the first two practices — reportedly because he didn’t pass his conditioning test.
Easley looks slimmed down this season and was a full-go for one-on-one drills. He beat offensive lineman Marcus Cannon in pass-rush drills.
— Tom Brady was 3 of 5 in 7-on-7 drills and 12 of 12 in 11-on-11s.
— Jimmy Garoppolo, who took some first reps for the first time this summer, went 4 of 5 in 7-on-7s and 7 of 9 in 11-on-11s. Neither quarterback threw any interceptions.
— Brady went 6 of 9 in 3-on-3 drills. Garoppolo went 8 of 12 in 3-on-3 drills.
— Julian Edelman shined in the 3-on-3 drills. He got the best of Malcolm Butler on a pass from Garoppolo. Butler was audibly upset with himself for giving up the catch. Butler made up for it with a nice pass breakup over wide receiver Brandon Gibson.
— Rookie safety Jordan Richards made an impressive play during 3-on-3 drills. Tight end Scott Chandler had his hands on the ball, but Richards ripped it away.
— Rookie guard Shaq Mason was impressive in pass rush drills until defensive end Geneo Grissom beat him with a swim move.
— Veteran edge rusher Eric Martin stood out in pass-rush drills on multiple occasions, beating starting left tackle Nate Solder on one occasion.
— Jake Bequette made a few nice catches during practice as he continues his transition to tight end from defensive end. The crowd even started a BEQU-ETTE chant at one point (yes, really).
— Wide reciever Aaron Dobson has had a nice offseason so far. He looks slightly ahead of Brian Tyms at this point in the summer, though it’s still very early.
— Running back Tyler Gaffney was planted by defensive tackle Sealver Siliga in team drills. Gaffney made a couple nice grabs as he tries to find a spot on the roster with his versatile skill set.
— Linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Xzavier Dickson wore red non-contact jerseys.
— Quarterback Matt Flynn, offensive lineman Caylin Hauptmann and defensive lineman Alan Branch remain on NFI and didn’t practice. Wide receivers Matthew Slater and Brandon LaFell, linebackers Dane Fletcher and Chris White, offensive lineman Ryan Wendell, defensive linemen Vince Taylor and Chris Jones remain on PUP and didn’t practice. Cornerback Derek Cox, tight end AJ Derby and linebacker D.J. Lynch also didn’t practice.
— Offensive lineman Kevin Hughes left practice midway through the session with what appeared to be a shoulder injury.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
