FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots’ and Chicago Bears’ No. 1 receivers certainly looked the part Tuesday.
Julian Edelman and Alshon Jeffery put on quite the show during the second of three Patriots-Bears joint practice, abusing opposing defensive backs throughout the roughly two-hour session.
Edelman did the bulk of his damage in individual and positional drills, the extra open space allowing him to showcase his supreme quickness. He left cornerbacks Tracy Porter and Taveze Calhoun in the dust during 1-on-1s, then hauled in five of the Patriots’ 12 total catches in 7-on-7s.
Edelman also participated in full-team drills for the first time since injuring his surgically repaired foot Aug. 9. After the third of his three receptions during 11-on-11s, Harold Jones-Quartey shouldered the wideout to the turf, attracting several teammates to the scene and nearly triggering a fight.
“He’s great,” Patriots receiver Chris Hogan said of Edelman. “He brings a lot of intensity into the huddle, and it’s nice having him out there, because like all the other wideouts, he works really hard out there. He’s trying to get out there as best he can, and it’s great having him out there, because he’s the leader of that group.”
On the other side, Jeffery, who’d been removed from Monday’s practice after his scrap with cornerback Malcolm Butler, was equally uncoverable. He toasted Butler on a deep route during 1-on-1s and also got the better of Logan Ryan on two occasions, including one in which Ryan appeared to have him fully blanketed.
Ryan got his revenge by swatting away a pass intended for Jeffery in 7-on-7s, but the receiver came back strong during full-team work, catching three of the four balls thrown his way in 11-on-11s. Butler came away with a pass breakup on the fourth.
The Patriots and Bears have one more joint practice scheduled for Wednesday morning before their preseason matchup Thursday night at Gillette Stadium.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
