FOXBORO, Mass. — Jimmy Garoppolo rebounded nicely Thursday after a couple practices when he wasn’t at the top of his game.
Garoppolo, who will start the first four games of the 2016 season, went 10 of 10 in 11-on-11 drills and was 16 of 18 overall, including 1-on-1 wide receiver-defensive back drills. Both of his incompletions in 1-on-1s came on pass breakups. Running back James White (three receptions) and tight end Martellus Bennett (two receptions) were favorite targets of Garoppolo’s.
At the end of practice, Garoppolo led the first-team offense in a half-speed drill against the defense. He completed two passes apiece to Bennett, tight end Rob Groknowski and wide receivers Aaron Dobson and Chris Harper.
Garoppolo and fellow quarterback Tom Brady competed after practice to throw a deep ball into a barrel. After 10 or 15 minutes, Garoppolo finally completed the task before Brady.
Here’s what else went down at Day 7 of training camp:
— Quarterback Tom Brady went 6 of 10 with an interception in 11-on-11 drills. The pick came on what looked like miscommunication with his receiver. Free safety Duron Harmon tracked it down and made a diving grab.
— Rookie quarterback Jacoby Brissett went 6 of 11 in 11-on-11s and 11 of 18 overall.
— The Patriots were left with just five wide receivers at practice with Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell, Keshawn Martin and Nate Washington out. That left Matthew Slater, Chris Harper, DeAndre Carter, Aaron Dobson and Devin Lucien. It’s possible none of those receivers catches a pass from Garoppolo or Brady during the regular season. Edelman, Amendola, Hogan and Mitchell are locks for the roster, and Martin is the favorite for the final receiver spot.
— Harper and Carter made the most of their reps. Harper caught a nice deep pass from Brady over cornerback Logan Ryan during 11-on-11s.
— It was a noteworthy practice for Ryan, who had two pass breakups — one during 1-on-1s and another during 11-on-11s.
— Here’s how the receivers and defensive backs fared in 1-on-1 drills:
- WR Chris Harper beat CB Malcolm Butler
- CB Logan Ryan broke up a pass over WR Aaron Dobson
- TE Steven Scheu beat FS Devin McCourty
- WR DeAndre Carter beat CB Justin Coleman
- WR DeAndre Carter beat CB E.J. Biggers
- TE Steven Scheu beat SS Cedric Thompson
- CB Cre’von LeBlanc broke up a pass over WR Devin Lucien
- WR DeAndre Carter beat CB Jonathan Jones
- CB Darryl Roberts beat WR Devin Lucien
- TE Steven Scheu beat FS Duron Harmon
- WR Chris Harper beat CB Cyrus Jones
- SS Vinnie Sunseri beat TE Steven Scheu
— Carter excelled in 1-on-1 drills, beating Coleman and Biggers by a solid 5 yards.
— The Patriots didn’t compete in 1-on-1 pass-rushing drills.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
