Coming off a walkthrough that did not feature any competitive reps, the New England Patriots will up the tempo and intensity on Friday. Taking to the Gillette Stadium field for their ninth session of training camp, it is time for a scrimmage.
Here is everything else you need to know about today’s practice.
Schedule
The Patriots’ ninth training camp session will not take place on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium but rather inside the team’s home arena. Unlike the other open sessions, this one will be a free
but ticketed event open only to those aforementioned season ticket members and Foxborough residents.
- 5 p.m. ET: Mike Vrabel press conference
- 6 p.m. ET: Practice
- ca. 7:30 p.m. ET: Player availability (Robert Spillane, Brenden Schooler)
As always, the schedule is tentative and subject to change. For more information, please visit our Pats Pulpit Training Camp Guide.
Story of the day
It’s all about competition on Friday night. While it will naturally happen in a controlled environment and likely not match the physicality of the full-padded practices earlier in the week, the scrimmage between the blue and white teams will be an intense, back-and-forth affair. It also might give us a clearer picture about where certain players stand on the depth chart at this point in time.
Injuries to monitor
Out: RB Antonio Gibson, WR Mack Hollins, OT Vederian Lowe (PUP), C Garrett Bradbury, OL Sidy Sow, DT Joshua Farmer, ED Keion White, LB Jahlani Tavai, CB Christian Gonzalez, CB Carlton Davis III
Before Friday’s scrimmage, head coach Mike Vrabel shared a list of players who would not partake in the session. There are no surprises relative to recent participation levels, but missing several starter-level contributors is obviously not the ideal scenario for the team.
Players to watch
QB Drake Maye: Friday’s scrimmage will be the closest to a real game setting the Patriots’ starting quarterback will have experienced so far this summer. This means that he will not just be in the spotlight for his performance but also for how well he is running the show on the field.
RB TreVeyon Henderson: With Antonio Gibson out and the players divided into two teams, the Patriots’ second-round draft pick is in line to see prominent reps. While it remains to be seen how much he will be able to actually showcase his talents in the scrimmage environment, he should be actively involved throughout the session.
OT Will Campbell: The Patriots’ first-round draft pick had a rough go the lasts time the team held a competitive session. This means that Friday will be an opportunity to bounce back and apply the lessons that he learned on Wednesday.
CB Alex Austin and CB D.J. James: With Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis out again, the Patriots will likely rely on Alex Austin and D.J. James as their starting cornerback duo on the outside — if they are on the same team. Even if they are not, however, both will see a lot of action and could further strengthen their respective case for not just making the team but also playing valuable roles.
Pats Pulpit will have you covered throughout the day, so please make sure to regularly check back to patspulpit.com for all the latest news from camp. Credentialed Patriots beat writers Brian Hines (@iambrianhines) and Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) will also bring you live updates on social media.
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