FOXBORO, Mass. — The biggest story from Day 1 of New England Patriots training camp was Danny Etling’s position change. The story of Day 2 was much more notable.
Patriots starting quarterback Tom Brady was a spectator Friday, observing practice in sweats. It’s unusual, to say the least, for Brady to get an off day just one day into training camp. He stayed on the field for the entire session, jogged around and even threw the ball a few times, so Brady’s absence likely wasn’t a big deal. But it’s certainly worth mentioning.
— Defensive end Michael Bennett, center David Andrews, Cole Croston (physically unable to perform list) and Yodny Cajuste (non-football injury list) weren’t spotted at practice.
— Brady, wide receiver Julian Edelman (NFI), wide receiver Demaryius Thomas (PUP), running back Sony Michel (PUP), safety Nate Ebner (PUP) and cornerback Ken Webster (PUP) were present but not in uniform.
— Defensive end Deatrich Wise (PUP) returned to practice in uniform but didn’t finish the session, departing for a side field. We’ll find out Friday afternoon if he was activated off PUP.
— Left tackle Isaiah Wynn left practice early for the side field but returned for the end of the session. Left guard Joe Thuney continued to fill in at left tackle. Ted Karras, James Ferentz and Hjalte Froholdt filled in along the interior offensive line with Andrews out and Thuney at tackle.
— Patrick Chung was still wearing his red non-contact jersey as he recovers from a broken arm suffered in Super Bowl LIII.
— Chung and wide receivers Braxton Berrios, N’Keal Harry, Gunner Olszewski and Phillip Dorsett fielded punts.
— There was an ugly team session in which quarterback Brian Hoyer went 3-of-7 with an interception and Jarrett Stidham went 2-of-6 with two interceptions while Brady observed the practice. Safety Obi Melifonwu and cornerbacks Duke Dawson and Jason McCourty had the interceptions.
— Hoyer went 11-of-14 in 11-on-11s. Stidham went 9-of-12 with an interception to Melifonwu, which was batted by safety Terrence Brooks. Stidham finished off strong, showing nice touch on a touchdown pass to running back James White in the corner of the end zone. He went 5-of-5 in his last portion of practice.
— Jason McCourty and Stephon Gilmore broke up passes. Tight end Matt LaCosse had a drop but also snagged a touchdown away from linebacker Elandon Roberts during team drills.
— Wide receivers Maurice Harris and Jakobi Meyers continue to impress.
— Rookie defensive tackle Byron Cowart had his knee worked on during practice and later departed to the locker room.
— Inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo continued calling defensive plays during team drills.
