FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots held their second training camp practice Thursday outside Gillette Stadium. Here’s what we observed during that session:
ATTIRE
Helmets and shorts.
As offensive tackle Trent Brown said Monday, the “real camp” — aka full contact — doesn’t start until full pads come on next Monday.
ATTENDANCE
One player who practiced on Day 1 of camp was absent Thursday: defensive end Deatrich Wise.
The following players were held out of practice for the second consecutive day:
C David Andrews (physically unable to perform list)
RB James White (PUP)
CB Jonathan Jones (PUP)
S Jabrill Peppers (PUP)
DB Myles Bryant (non-football injury)
P Jake Bailey (non-football illness)
OL Chasen Hines (non-football injury)
OL Andrew Stueber (non-football injury)
Apart from Stueber, who has yet to make an appearance at practice, and Wise, all of those players ran through conditioning drills on a separate field while wearing workout clothes. Bailey did not do so Wednesday, so his status appears to be improving.
Rookie running back Pierre Strong again was limited, leaving for the rehab field after warmups.
QB REPORT
This started off as another sterling day for Mac Jones, who completed his first 12 passes in 7-on-7 drills before having his last attempt broken up by second-year safety Joshuah Bledsoe (more on him later).
But New England’s defense gained the upper hand during red-zone 11-on-11s, holding Jones to five completions on 11 attempts during competitive full-team periods. This included a string of six consecutive incompletions before Jones closed with a short touchdown to tight end Hunter Henry on the final rep of practice.
Jones and other Patriots spoke Wednesday about the offense trying to play faster this season, and Matt Patricia and Joe Judge put the QB on the move quite a bit on Day 2, dialing up several designed rollouts and sprintouts.
In a change from Wednesday, the Patriots transitioned straight from Jones to fourth-round rookie Bailey Zappe in each drill, with veteran backup Brian Hoyer receiving zero competitive reps. Zappe continued to exhibit erratic tendencies, missing several open receivers as he finished 6-for-10 in 7-on-7s and 2-for-7 in 11s.
PLAYER OF THE DAY
We’ll go with a copout here and say “the defense.”
After Jones carved his way to an 18-for-22 showing on Day 1 of camp, New England’s D put the clamps on near the goal line Thursday, utterly dominating a red-zone 11-on-11s period that closed out practice. Jones and Zappe combined to throw 10 consecutive incompletions during one stretch before the late touchdown to Henry, which, because it occurred on a “gotta-have-it” rep, resulted in a 10-pushup punishment for the defense.
Making this stretch more impressive was that Patriots cornerbacks were wearing large pads on their hands to prevent them from grabbing at receivers. Non-padded practices also typically favor the offense, as defenders aren’t allowed to be as physical as they would in full-contact settings.
The defense also “sacked” Jones on one 11-on-11 rep and forced a throwaway with another coverage sack.
If you’re looking for an individual standout, Bledsoe continued to make plays in the secondary, forcing one incompletion from Jones and two more from Zappe. Through two practices, the 2021 sixth-round draft pick has forced a team-high five incompletions, most of which likely would be classified as pass breakups.
Safety might be the Patriots’ deepest position group with Devin McCourty, Adrian Phillips and Kyle Dugger all returning and versatile veteran Peppers coming aboard this offseason. But Bledsoe, who missed his entire rookie season with a wrist injury, has seen additional opportunities with Peppers on the PUP list and has flashed. He’ll be one to watch moving forward.
PLAY OF THE DAY
Though the defense won the day, wide receiver DeVante Parker delivered the biggest highlight, twisting to haul in a back-shoulder touchdown from Mac Jones amid tight coverage from cornerback Jalen Mills.
Parker has made a career out of pulling down tough catches in traffic, and he now has four contested touchdown receptions through two camp practices. He also had a step on rookie Jack Jones on a different rep, but Jones overthrew him in the corner of the end zone. The former Miami Dolphin has looked as advertised thus far.
Mac Jones also floated a pretty red-zone touchdown pass to Kendrick Bourne, who beat Terrance Mitchell and then spiked the ball in celebration.
ASSORTED NOTES
— Judge radioed in plays using a walkie-talkie during the first 7-on-7 period of practice, but Patricia did so in every other competitive team drill. Patricia, the Patriots’ offensive line coach, also handled primary play-calling duties Wednesday, making him the clear favorite to fill that important role this season.
— Tight ends Henry and Jonnu Smith both made highlight-reel catches early in practice, elevating over Bledsoe and Dugger, respectively. Henry followed his up with an emphatic, leaping spike. Expect the Patriots to deploy both of them on the field together far more often this season.
Smith’s catch, though, likely wouldn’t have counted, as he appeared to jump offsides before the play.
— Malcolm Butler has had a tough time keeping up with Nelson Agholor this week. Agholor beat Butler for a touchdown in 7-on-7s, and he nearly did so again in 11s but couldn’t get both feet down in bounds.
Butler is not guaranteed a roster spot this summer, and we’d currently put him behind Mills and Mitchell in the Patriots cornerback battle. Mills, a returning starter, has broken up one pass in each of the first two camp practices, thwarting a would-be Agholor touchdown on Day 2.
— With Jonathan Jones sidelined to start camp, Shaun Wade has served as the Patriots’ top slot cornerback. He had a pass breakup Thursday, swatting down a Zappe slant pass intended for Lil’Jordan Humphrey.
— Ty Montgomery continues to see substantial run with the top offensive unit, repping at both wide receiver and running back. His versatility and extensive special teams experience make him an intriguing roster candidate, especially with White’s status still uncertain.
Rookie Tyquan Thornton also has been with the starters when the Patriots split their offense into two groups, though all of his receptions thus far have come from Hoyer or Zappe. Minicamp standout Tre Nixon has run with the scout team thus far in camp.
— For the second straight day, Mac Jones practiced his field-goal holding, suggesting he’s the No. 2 option there should something happen to Bailey. As we noted in Wednesday’s observations, Jones was a reliable holder at Alabama, continuing in that role even after he became the Crimson Tide’s starting QB.
Zappe also took reps as a holder Thursday, with Judge — a longtime special teams coordinator who now coaches New England’s quarterbacks — closely observing both and providing feedback.
— J.J. Taylor, Rhamondre Stevenson and Agholor returned kickoffs during practice, with Taylor and Stevenson seeing the most work there. Jack Jones, Marcus Jones, Dugger and Nixon returned punts before practice.
— Taylor had to run a lap after fumbling during a 1-on-1 tracking drill. Brown had to run one after committing a penalty.
— Offensive linemen wore what looked like large red oven mitts during one 11-on-11 period. Like the cornerbacks’ hand pads, these likely were meant to limit grabbing and increase the degree of difficulty.
— Quarterback and wide receivers stayed on the field to practice deep balls as the rest of the team hit the hill for post-practice sprints.
UP NEXT
The Patriots will practice again Friday and Saturday morning (both 9:30 a.m.) before their first off-day of training camp. All camp practices are free and open to the public.
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