The New England Patriots were back to work on Tuesday for their seventh training camp practice of the summer — which included full pads for the second straight day.
Here is what went down on the fields behind Gillette Stadium.
Setting
Attire: Full pads
Duration: ca. 105 minutes (10:15-12:00 p.m. ET)
Conditions: Sunny, temperatures in the 90s
It was another steamy hot day in Foxborough as the Patriots put the pads on for the second straight day. With practice eclipsing the 90-minute mark, New England saw plenty
of competitive action with the day ending in the low red area.
Attendance
Absent: CB Christian Gonzalez*, FB Brock Lampe*, DL Joshua Farmer*, LB Jahlani Tavai, CB Carlton Davis, WR Mack Hollins (PUP), OT Vederian Lowe (PUP)
Returned: TE Austin Hooper (PUP)
Limited: OT Morgan Moses
Injured: OL Yasir Durant, C Garrett Bradbury
Christian Gonzalez, who was diagnosed with a hamstring injury after Monday’s practice, was sidelined on Tuesday. The star corner did make an appearance towards the end of practice with a black compression sleeve on his left leg and no noticeable limp. Gonzalez then walked the field to sign autographs for fans post practice.
Joining Gonzalez on the sideline were rookies Joshua Farmer and Brock Lampe, a noticeable absence with New England needing to create a roster spot for newly-signed linebacker R.J. Moten.
During Tuesday’s session, veteran tackle Morgan Moses departed early with no apparent injury. Fellow offensive lineman Yasir Durant took a visit to the medial shed and did not return while starting center Garrett Bradbury was rolled up on late in practice. Bradbury did not visit the medical area but was clearly hobbled afterwards.
Tight end Austin Hooper did make his first appearance of the summer after opening training camp on the PUP list.
Takeaways
Wilson takes over: In an early 1-on-1 period, Jared Wilson aligned as the offensive line’s top left guard over Cole Strange. Matching up against Milton Williams and Christian Barmore (twice), the rookie more than held his ground and went a combined 3-0.
As work transitioned into team work, Wilson remained the unit’s top left guard with Strange and then Caedan Wallace rotating in behind him with the first unit. Wilson then received snaps at center with the second unit before snapping to Maye when Bradbury was rolled up on near the end of practice.
The change up front at left guard was the only one along the starting offensive line. Will Campbell remained at left tackle and had a quieter day then Monday — including getting pushed backwards by Keion White in the red area. Mike Onwenu stayed at right guard and the duo of Morgan Moses and Demontrey Jacobs manned the right tackle spot.
Up-and-down Drake: After throwing just six passes in competitive team work on Monday, Drake Maye got more action in New England’s second padded practice of the summer. The QB started shaky in 7-on-7s which transitioned into full-team work. He began with misses to Hunter Henry and an open Kyle Williams, before later missing his tight end wide left. Maye did bounce back nicely, however, with a pretty over-the-shoulder fade to Williams for a touchdown before finding Stefon Diggs in the back of the end zone to his right the very next play.
As work transitioned into the low red area, Maye again found Diggs in the right corner of the end zone. He ended his day with a touchdown in the opposite corner to Kayshon Boutte.
Behind Maye, backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs had one of his better days of the summer highlighted by back-to-back touchdowns in the red area. Javon Baker and Kendrick Bourne were the recipients of those scoring plays.
Receiver room: Following a strong first day of camp, it was a quiet few days for rookie receiver Kyle Williams. Tuesday saw a more involved rookie, however; he saw increased worked with Drake Maye and alongside top two wide receivers Stefon Diggs and DeMario Douglas. Williams hauled in the aforementioned touchdown pass from the top QB in the red area but also had a drop in the period beforehand.
Elsewhere in the receiver room, Diggs caught a pair of touchdowns from Maye along the back end line — the second featuring heavy pressure on Maye that would have been a sack in live action. With Williams getting more run, Kayshon Boutte lost time with the top offense but still ended the day with a touchdown from Maye.
Javon Baker also had a pretty touchdown from Joshua Dobbs going up and over Marcellas Dial. However, a mental mistake by the second-year receiver forced the offense to burn a timeout three plays later.
Replacing Gonzo: With no Christian Gonzalez, cornerback D.J. James saw elevated reps and continued his strong summer with a pass breakup early. Stefon Diggs did beat the young corner for one of his two scores, but the former practice squad member remains right in the mix for a backup spot at the position.
Borregales bounces back: A day after Parker Romo handled all six field goal attempts and going a perfect 6-for-6, Tuesday shifted to rookie kicker Andres Borregales. Kicking between 30 and 52 yards, Borregales also was without any misses — a strong bounce back after going 2-of-4 in his last live kicking session last week.
Other notes: Another QB-center exchange ended with the ball on the ground, this time between Drake Maye and Garrett Bradbury. … Today’s “TreVeyon Henderson is fast” update came as he easily turned the corner on a toss to his right. … Jack Westover received fullback snaps with no Brock Lampe. … Austin Hooper regained his spot at TE2 behind Henry. … Efton Chism remains a tough cover working mostly with Joshua Dobbs and Ben Wooldridge, who he caught his lone target in team from on Tuesday. ... Another strong day for pass rusher K’Lavon Chaisson. … Khyiris Tonga was a handful along the interior of the defensive line.
Preview
The Patriots will be right back to work on Wednesday for their seventh session of the summer — whether they will be in full pads for the third straight day is TBD, however. Gates will open at 9:15 a.m. ET with practice set to start at 10:15 a.m. ET. Mike Vrabel will speak before practice with a select group of players will be made available to talk to the media afterwards.
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