FOXBORO, Mass. — It looked like it was going to be a long day for the New Orleans Saints after the initial 1-on-1 portion of their joint practice with the New England Patriots on Tuesday.
Saints quarterbacks completed just 11 of 21 passes against Patriots defensive backs in 1-on-1 drills, and Patriots quarterbacks were 15 of 21 against Saints defensive backs.
Then the teams got into full-team drills, and the script flipped.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was 7 of 11 with an interception in 11-on-11s and 11 of 19 with the pick overall. Rookie defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins leapt up and grabbed Brady’s interception.
Jimmy Garoppolo was 7 of 15 with an interception during 11-on-11s and 10 of 22 with the pick overall. Rookie cornerback De’Vante Harris picked off Garoppolo on a throw to Aaron Dobson.
The Patriots had a number of drops during team drills. Rob Gronkowksi and Chris Harper had two drops apiece, and James White, Brandon Bolden and Chris Hogan each had one. Six of the seven drops came during Garoppolo’s reps, so his performance wasn’t quite as bad as his numbers suggest.
Saints starting quarterback Drew Brees was 21 of 25, and backup Luke McCown was 3 of 6 with an interception.
Patriots third-string QB Jacoby Brissett was 4 of 7, and Saints third-stringer Garrett Grayson was 3 of 6.
Here are more notes from camp:
— Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman suffered an injury during 1-on-1 drills. Patriots head trainer Jim Whelan looked at his lower left leg before Edelman walked off the field slowly under his own power. The injury “is not believed to be serious,” NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported.
— Patriots defensive end Rob Ninkovich suffered a tricep injury and walked off the field with a team doctor. He’s having an MRI, ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss reported.
— Prior to suffering the injury, Edelman was impressive in 1-on-1 drills. Here’s how the Patriots’ receivers fared:
- WR Aaron Dobson beat DB Delvin Breaux
- DB P.J. Williams beat Edelman
- TE Clay Harbor beat S Kenny Vaccaro
- WR Chris Harper drew a pass interference
- DB De’Vante Harris beat WR Chris Hogan
- DB Erik Harris beat TE A.J. Derby
- WR Nate Washington beat DB Brandon Dixon
- DB Erik Harris beat WR DeAndre Carter
- DB Jairus Byrd beat TE Steven Scheu
- WR Malcolm Mitchell beat DB Ken Crawley
- TE Rob Gronkowski beat DB Vonn Bell
- Edelman beat DB Jimmy Pruitt
- TE Martellus Bennett beat DB Trae Elston
- Hogan beat Harris
- WR Devin Lucien beat Breaux
- Edelman beat Bell
- Gronkowski beat S Roman Harper
- Lucien beat Williams
- Hogan beat Dixon
- Bennett beat S Jamal Golden
- Carter dropped a pass against DB Brian Dixon
Here’s how the Patriots’ defensive backs fared:
- WR Brandin Cooks beat CB Malcolm Butler
- CB Logan Ryan broke up a pass intended for WR Brandon Coleman
- WR Willie Snead beat CB Justin Coleman
- CB Cyrus Jones broke up a pass intended for WR Michael Thomas
- WR Reggie Bell beat CB E.J. Biggers
- CB Darryl Roberts broke up a pass for WR R.J. Harris
- WR Tommylee Lewis beat CB Jonathan Jones
- CB Cre’von LeBlanc beat WR Jordan Williams-Lambert
- S Patrick Chung beat TE Coby Fleener
- CB V’Angelo Bentley beat WR Jared Dangerfield
- Cooks beat Butler
- Coleman beat Ryan
- Snead beat Coleman
- Cyrus Jones beat Thomas
- Biggers beat Bell
- Harris beat LeBlanc
- Fleener beat S Devin McCourty
- Lewis beat Jonathan Jones
- Bentley beat Williams-Lambert
- Cooks beat Butler
- Dangerfield beat Roberts
— Patriots rookie wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell stood out during later 1-on-1 drills.
— Dont’a Hightower, Trey Flowers, Jamie Collins and Shea McClellin brought pressure in team drills. Hightower and Flowers each got into the backfield twice.
— Butler, Cyrus Jones and Bentley recorded pass breakups during team drills. Safety Duron Harmon picked off Brees.
— It was Cyrus Jones’ best practice of training camp. He had a pass breakup in 1-on-1s and 11-on-11s and beat Saints second-round pick Michael Thomas twice. He also cleanly handled all of this punt returns.
— Cooks got the best of Butler for the most part, but the cornerback did deflect an end zone fade from Brees.
— McClellin mostly filled in for Ninkovich after the pass rusher left practice.
— Nate Solder was absent, and LaAdrian Waddle took his reps at left tackle. The starting O-line was Waddle, Joe Thuney, David Andrews, Josh Kline and Marcus Cannon.
— Logan Ryan had a fumble recovery during team drills.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
