Following a walkthrough on Monday, the New England Patriots ramped things back up on Tuesday; players echoed practice felt like the first real one of the summer. That included their first day wearing shells while running nearly two hours long.
Here’s what went down on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium.
Attendance
PUP/NFI: ED Gabe Jacas, RB Terrell Jennings, TE C.J. Dippre, ED Harold Landry III, S Brenden Schooler
Injuries: CB Carlton Davis, CB Charles Woods, RB Rhamondre Stevenson
The Patriots active
roster featured perfect attendance again on Tuesday while five players remained on injured lists. Rookie Gabe Jacas did briefly make his first appearance on the field in street clothes as an observer.
Early in practice, cornerback Carlton Davis departed with a member of the medical staff and did not return. Charles Woods, who then filled in for Davis, then also left the field. Late in practice, running back Rhamondre Stevenson walked off before final conditioning work with what appeared to be a heat issue.
Takeaways
Big play Boutte: In the Patriots two competitive practices this summer, the highlight of each day came from wide receiver Kayshon Boutte making impressive grabs down the field. With the intensity ramped back up on Tuesday, Boutte was on scene again for the highlight of the day getting behind the defense to haul in a 40-plus yard touchdown from Maye.
Beyond his long score, Boutte hauled his lone other target from Maye and also a pair of passes from Tommy DeVito.
While Boutte entered training camp with an uncertain future due to his contract, the 24-year old has been the best offensive player in camp through the first week.
Ending strong: Opening practice with their first 7-on-7 period of the summer, Drake Maye started on the shaky side with a pair of overthrows. That continued through the early full-team work as Maye tossed four total uncatchable passes. Later in the day, the QB settled in and delivered the aforementioned touchdown bomb to Boutte and several strong downfield throws to Hunter Henry on a corner and a deep out.
Maye’s last throw of the day then put the exclamation mark on his strong finish, as he stepped up in the pocket and floated a pass right in the bucket to Rhamondre Stevenson on a corner route out of the backfield.
Drake and A.J.: Of Maye’s four uncatchable passes on Tuesday, three were in the direction of new wide receiver A.J. Brown. After Maye overthrow an open Brown on the first pass of the day in 7s, the duo appeared to be on the wrong page on Maye’s first two passes in 11-on-11s as their chemistry continues to be a work in progress.
Throughout the day, Maye did connect with Brown three times (one coming in 7s) — all coming in the underneath area of the field.
As for the rest of New England’s pass catchers, it was another quiet day for Romeo Doubs who saw just one target late in the day from Drake Maye in the flat. DeMario Douglas and Boutte were active again, while Efton Chism III caught his long target from Maye before adding two receptions from Tommy DeVito. The backup QB also connected once with Kyle Williams and Mack Hollins underneath.
Ponder’s pressure: After being named an offseason award winner, second-year pass rusher Elijah Ponder got off to a strong start in the Patriots’ most physical practice of the summer. Ponder was active along the edge and was in the backfield near Maye on multiple occasions — forcing one bad throw in the process.
New England could use someone to emerge from their young group of pass rushers, and Ponder, who has consistently run opposite of veteran Dre’Mont Jones, has started off strong.
Other notes:
- Rookie tight end Eli Raridon continued to be active as a pass catcher hauling in all three targets from DeVito — including a downfield reception and a catch after settling in a zone. UDFA Tanner Arkin also got on the board with the backup QB while continuing to mix in with the first-team.
- With Morgan Moses (rest) limited during competitive periods, Caleb Lomu and James Hudson rotated in as the top right tackle.
- Running 1-on-1s in the trenches with shells on, offensive tackle Will Campbell got off to a strong start with a pair of wins.
- Charles Woods was first-up to replace the injured Carlton Davis in the secondary. With Woods then in-and-out of practice, veteran Kindle Vildor manned the boundary opposite of Christian Gonzalez.
- New England’s defense debuted some dime looks with Marcus Jones and Mike Brown on the field together.
- Andy Borregales went 5-of-6 on field goals between roughly 30-to-50 yards with the lone miss coming off a bad snap from Julian Ashby.
- The Patriots will be off on Wednesday after four straight practices before returning to action on Thursday, for what is expected to be the first day of full pads. Potential rain in the forecast may push the team inside which would close the practice to the public.
