Patriots Training Camp Observations: Everything We Saw On Day 11

FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots braved the elements on Day 11 of training camp, practicing Monday in rain that fluctuated between drizzle and downpour.

Here’s everything we observed during the two-hour, fully padded session:

ATTIRE
Full pads.

ATTENDANCE
Center David Andrews returned after missing Monday’s practice, but two other veteran leaders remained sidelined, with cornerback Jonathan Jones and special teamer Matthew Slater both sitting out for the second consecutive day.

Also absent on Day 11:

G Cole Strange
WR/RB Ty Montgomery
ST Cody Davis
OL Mike Onwenu
OT Calvin Anderson
G Bill Murray

Murray was the only new addition to that list.

Jones eventually arrived at practice and watched 11-on-11 drills in workout clothes. Strange did, as well, wearing a practice jersey and helmet.

Offensive tackle Trent Brown upped his participation level compared to previous practices, but he still was far from full-go. He saw out 1-on-1 drills and only took part in team periods that were unopposed.

Brown revealed after practice that he’s dealing with an injury and said his limitations are “not at all” contract-related.

Rookie linebacker/safety Marte Mapu and tight end Johnny Lumpkin wore red non-contact jerseys.

QB REPORT
Mac Jones: 14-for-20 in 11-on-11s

Bailey Zappe: 11-for-20, INT

Trace McSorley: 0-for-2

Malik Cunningham: 3-for-6

ASSORTED OBSERVATIONS
— Surprised to see Cunningham in that quarterback section? So were we. The undrafted rookie still is listed as a QB on New England’s official roster, but Monday was the first time he took reps behind center in a competitive setting this summer.

The Patriots gave the Louisville product an extended look in that role. By our count, Cunningham logged 16 reps at QB in full-team drills, plus a handful more in a slower scout-team period at the end of practice.

The results were nothing special, but Cunningham did have a nice on-the-move completion to Thyrick Pitts on a rollout and showed off his speed and elusiveness on a couple of keepers.

Cunningham has spoken about how he’s studied Julian Edelman as he attempts to convert to receiver, but it appears his quarterbacking days aren’t completely behind him. It’ll be fascinating to see whether the Patriots give him any snaps there this preseason. He’s certainly the team’s most mobile option at the position.

— Cunningham’s final pass of practice yielded perhaps the most impressive reception of training camp to date. The throw sailed high as Cunningham rolled to his right, but rookie receiver Kayshon Boutte was able to stick his arm up and come down with a remarkable one-handed catch.

Boutte really has turned things around after an underwhelming spring and a lackluster start to camp. The sixth-round draft pick turned heads with positive plays in each of the last four practices.

— The Patriots again were down three O-line starters (Brown, Strange and Onwenu), and it showed against their formidable pass rush. We spotted at least seven would-be “sacks” in 11-on-11 drills, with Deatrich Wise and Josh Uche both getting to the QB on multiple occasions.

New England badly needs to get healthy up front in time for Week 1.

— New England’s cornerbacks dominated the latest round of 1-on-1 drills against the wide receivers. Christian Gonzalez, Jack Jones, Myles Bryant, Isaiah Bolden and Quandre Mosely all broke up passes, and JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kendrick Bourne both had drops. Some of those PBUs might have been intercepted had the defenders not been wearing pads on their hands to prevent them from holding.

One wideout who did fare well during that period was (surprise, surprise) Demario Douglas, who went 2-0 with wins over Marcus Jones and Rodney Randle. The Douglas-Jones battle has been decidedly one-sided, with the wideout winning all six of their 1-on-1 matchups in camp.

Tre Nixon also won both of his reps Monday (over Shaun Wade and Ameer Speed), and Tyquan Thornton (over Randle) and Cunningham (over Mosely) both were 1-0. The Patriots’ top trio of Smith-Schuster, Parker and Bourne went a combined 0-5.

— Bourne also dropped a Mac Jones pass early in 11-on-11s, but he rebounded by catching his final four targets. He and Hunter Henry each caught three passes from Jones in team drills, with Smith-Schuster and Parker grabbing two apiece.

Parker’s first came on Jones’ best throw of the day: a deep ball down the left sideline for a 35-yard gain. Parker outmuscled rookie cornerback Isaiah Bolden for a contested catch and got both feet down in bounds. Bolden, a tall seventh-round pick out of Jackson State, lost a similar rep to Parker last Thursday.

— Jack Jones broke up a pass to Bourne in 1-on-1s and two to Smith-Schuster in 11-on-11s. There seemingly weren’t any on-field consequences from his bizarre practice exit last Thursday, as he’s been a full participant each day since.

Jack Jones, Marcus Jones and Bolden were the biggest beneficiaries of Jonathan Jones’ second straight absence.

— Marcus Jones snatched the only interception of the day when he leaped to pick off an underthrown deep ball by Zappe. This was a messy practice for New England’s second-string QB, who also had at least three passes batted down at the line.

Batted passes were an issue last season for Zappe, who’s on the shorter side for a quarterback at 6-foot-1.

— All three of Thornton’s targets in this practice were from Zappe. He caught one, and the other two were broken up.

By our count, Thornton has seen a total of nine targets in 11-on-11 drills over the past two days — one from Jones and eight from Zappe. Those resulted in three catches and five PBUs.

Not all of those breakups were contested, but Thornton has done little to quell concerns about his lack of strength and physicality at the catch point. The second-year pro has yet to catch a pass from Jones in competitive team drills through 11 practices.

— Defensive tackle Christian Barmore had one of the most impressive reps in lineman 1-on-1s, lifting guard Kody Russey off the ground with a Reggie White “hump” move.

Christian Barmore was asked about a rep where he used a hump move to beat Kody Russey in 1-on-1s: “Oh, you mean the hump move? Yeah, I picked him up off his feet.”

Also calls HOFer Reggie White, who made the move famous, a legend pic.twitter.com/BqKxNNVdWM

— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) August 7, 2023

— The Patriots had an officiating crew present at practice for the first time in camp. It was the same group of officials, led by referee Land Clark, who will work Thursday night’s preseason opener against the Houston Texans.

— Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla and two of his assistants attended practice and spent the early portion speaking with Belichick. Their chat lasted close to 30 minutes until team drills began and Belichick was needed elsewhere.

Mazzulla’s predecessor, Brad Stevens, often stopped by Foxboro during the spring and summer and had a good relationship with his Patriots counterpart.

UP NEXT
The Patriots will hold what might be their final open practice of training camp Tuesday afternoon before opening the preseason Thursday night against the Texans at Gillette Stadium.