Patriots Training Camp Observations: Everything We Saw On Day 9

FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots on Friday held their annual in-stadium training camp practice, and it was about as uneventful as those in previous years.

Players and coaches split into two teams, treating season ticket holders and Foxboro residents to a blue-white scrimmage. The entire thing was run at a jog-like pace, with an emphasis on substations and the kinds of details that could come up on gameday inside Gillette Stadium.

Here are the full rosters, via Alex Barth of 98.5 The Sports Hub:

ATTIRE
Shells and shorts

ATTENDANCE
On paper, it was the worst attendance of training camp, with a summer-high 10 players sitting out. But with the main benefits of the practice being procedural details, the Patriots clearly just wanted to give some veterans the night off.

Here’s the full absence list:

OT Calvin Anderson
OT Trent Brown
OL Mike Onwenu
G Cole Strange
RB Ty Montgomery
DB Brad Hawkins
CB Jonathan Jones
ST Matthew Slater
ST Cody Davis
LB Matthew Judon

Anderson, Onwenu, Strange, Montgomery, Hawkins and Davis all are dealing with injuries and/or illnesses. Judon reportedly received his desired contract restructure before the start of practice after putting forth uneven participation over the first week-plus of training camp.

Brown, Judon, Jones, Strange and Hawkins all were spotted on the sideline wearing street clothes. We didn’t spot Slater, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t there.

The most notable player who did participate was cornerback Jack Jones, who was kicked out of Thursday’s practice for still-mysterious reasons. That he was on the field Friday potentially indicates he won’t face any discipline — but who knows at this point?

KICKER REPORT
Typically, this is where we’d include the quarterback stats. But this practice wasn’t remotely competitive, so instead we’ll give you numbers for the field goal kickers, who are engaging in a true position battle

Chad Ryland: 3-for-4 (43, 42, 48)
Nick Folk: 3-for-4 (41, 38, 33)

— Ryland missed his first attempt inside Gillette Stadium, doinking the ball off the right goal post.

— He also “missed” another, but it appeared he came up short before kicking the ball, and coaches called a false start on the offensive line — or something. It was hard to tell. Either way, we didn’t count it as a real miss.

— Folk missed his last attempt wide right from 48 yards.

— Both kickers made all of their extra-point attempts.

— As for the punters, they showed out well, with rookie Bryce Baringer and veteran Corliss Waitman both displaying strong legs. That said, Baringer was better, as he’s been throughout camp, including booming one put 65 yards and another 55 yards.

ASSORTED OBSERVATIONS
— Mac Jones hit DeVante Parker on a deep ball that went roughly 60 yards through the air. Christian Gonzalez wasn’t playing real defense, but the throw looked good.

— Devin McCourty hung out on both sidelines, chatting up some of his former teammates.

— Rookie offensive lineman Jake Andrews played a lot of center. The fourth-rounder was drafted as a center, but primarily has played at guard during training camp practices.

— The night began with the Patriots turning on their historic new video board for the “first time.”

NEXT UP
The Patriots will enjoy an off day Saturday before returning to the field Sunday, which originally was scheduled as an off day. They’ll also practice Monday and Tuesday, then rest Wednesday.

New England opens its preseason schedule next Thursday night when it hosts the Houston Texans.