FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots already had a tough cut on the horizon at cornerback. Now an undrafted free agent could be making things even more complicated.
D’Angelo Ross, a rookie free agent out of New Mexico, stood out in 1-on-1 drills. The Patriots have long had success with undrafted cornerbacks, finding players like Randall Gay, Malcolm Butler, Kenny Moore and JC Jackson after the draft.
Here’s everything that happened at Wednesday’s padded (and steamy) practice.
— Defensive tackle Byron Cowart and wide receiver Dontrelle Inman returned to practice.
— Tight end Lance Kendricks left practice early with a member of the training staff.
— Running back Rex Burkhead and offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn were limited.
— Wide receiver Julian Edelman (non-football injury list), cornerback Ken Webster and Nate Ebner (both on the physically unable to perform list) were present but not in uniform.
— Today’s punt returners: wide receivers Braxton Berrios, Gunner Olszewski, Maurice Harris and Phillip Dorsett and safety Patrick Chung.
— Today’s kick returners: same group as above.
— Ross shined in 1-on-1 drills, breaking up passes over Berrios and Olszewski. Cornerback Jonathan Jones also had a breakup over Berrios.
— Rookie cornerback Joejuan Williams made his best play of camp, breaking up a pass intended for Dorsett from quarterback Brian Hoyer in 11-on-11s.
— Undrafted rookie wide receiver Jakobi Meyers also made a standout play in 11-on-11s, climbing the ladder to go up and catch a pass from rookie quarterback Jarrett Stidham over cornerback Keion Crossen.
— Rookie wide receiver N’Keal Harry went up and snagged a pass from Hoyer over cornerback Jason McCourty in a later 11-on-11. He had a bad drop from Brady later in 11-on-11s but made up for it on the next play with a diving catch on a scramble drill. He later had another drop from Brady after beating cornerback Stephon Gilmore. He dropped three passes overall Wednesday.
— Standout reps in pass-rush 1-on-1s: edge defenders Trent Harris and Shilique Calhoun, defensive end Michael Bennett, defensive tackle Nick Thurman and guards Shaq Mason and Joe Thuney. Bennett impressively flung Mason to the ground on one rep.
— Receivers working with Hoyer and quarterback Tom Brady during punt drills: Meyers, Harry, running backs Sony Michel and James White and tight end Ben Watson.
— Defensive end Keionta Davis batted a pass in 11-on-11s. Jackson broke up a pass intended for Harry in 7-on-7s. Jason McCourty, Duke Dawson, Terrence Brooks and Williams broke up passes in 11s. Jonathan Jones had two pass breakups in 11s. Safety Duron Harmon intercepted a pass.
— White took a lap after being stripped by Jamie Collins.
— Brady went 5-of-11 in 11-on-11s and 5-of-15 overall. Hoyer went 4-of-9 with an interception during 11-on-11s and 7-of-12 overall. Stidham went 3-of-5 in 11-on-11s and 4-of-7 overall.
