NFL Rumors: Patriots Planning Joint Practice With This Contender

The Patriots reportedly will spend extra time with an NFC championship favorite this summer.

New England head coach Jerod Mayo and Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni have discussed the possibility of holding a joint practice in Foxboro, Mass., this August, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. The Patriots are expected to host the Eagles for a preseason game in a few months, so the plan is to practice together before their exhibition at Gillette Stadium.

Mayo’s predecessor, Bill Belichick, was a proponent of joint practices as well. However, New England’s first-year coach reportedly wants to limit it to one session since fights tend to break out on Day 2 of joint practices.

Both the Patriots and the Eagles will enter the joint practice and preseason game with notable new faces and rookies. Philadelphia made one of the league’s biggest free-agent signings when it landed running back Saquon Barkley, and it drafted two of the best defensive backs (Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean) in the 2024 class. The Patriots, meanwhile, double-dipped at quarterback last month, taking Drake Maye third overall before taking Joe Milton III in the sixth round.

New England and Philadelphia enter the 2024 season with very different expectations from outsiders. The Eagles have the seventh-shortest odds to win Super Bowl LIX, while the Patriots have the second-longest odds to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in February.