The New England Patriots held their second practice of training camp on Sunday on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium. The 90-minute session did not feature any pads and contact remained limited as they continue to ramp things up.
Here’s what went down throughout the day.
Attendance
Absentees: ED Gabe Jacas, WR Jeremiah Webb (new), FB Reggie Gilliam (new)
PUP/NFI: RB Terrell Jennings, TE C.J. Dippre, ED Harold Landry III, S Brenden Schooler
Injuries: N/A
Edge rusher Gabe Jacas was in the building to sign
his rookie contract on Sunday but did not yet join the team on the practice field as he works back from several pre-drafty injuries.
Reggie Gilliam was a new absence in addition to Jeremiah Webb, who was slightly banged up to end Saturday’s session. All four players then remained on PUP/NFI lists.
Takeaways
Pass defense shines: After the Patriots’ offense struck its fair share of explosives to open camp, New England’s defense punched back on Sunday. That was highlighted by the first interception of camp, as a high pass intended for A.J. Brown over the middle of the field tipped off the receiver’s outstretched finger tips and was corralled by Craig Woodson.
The Patriots pass defense didn’t stop there, as Christian Gonzalez, who was again a full participant, and Carlton Davis recorded pass breakups of their own. Milton Williams even got into the action batting a pass down at the line of scrimmage.
Drake’s inaccuracies: The miss to Brown was not the only overthrow of the day for Drake Maye. The quarterback’s first pass of the afternoon saw him miss Hunter Henry high on a crosser, while Maye also overthrow an open Eli Raridon later off a play-action bootleg with a free rusher chasing him from behind.
Boutte’s big play: A day after making the highlight play of the day, Kayshon Boutte was on scene again to provide the Patriots’ offense their largest play of Sunday’s session. Working against Carlton Davis, Boutte worked the sideline nicely to haul in a back shoulder ball from Maye for a roughly 20-yard gain.
Elsewhere at wide receiver, Maye and Brown connected for the first time in camp on a simple slant route. Maye’s lone target to Romeo Doubs on the day was incomplete. Mack Hollins and Kyle Williams, who ran a strong downfield comeback route, got their first catches of the summer from Tommy DeVito. UDFA Nick DeGennaro then got on the board with two catches from Behren Morton.
Lomu’s snaps: With veteran right tackle Morgan Moses not taking any competitive reps on Sunday, first rounder Caleb Lomu repped in his place. The Patriots also got Lomu reps as the jumbo tight end where they would then insert Marcus Bryant at right tackle with Lomu eligible.
The rest of the Patriots offensive line remained the same with Will Campbell, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jared Wilson, and Mike Onwenu filling the other four spots. The lone procedural blemish appeared to be a false start on Vera-Tucker.
Other notes:
- It was another impressive showing for rookie quarterback Behren Morton is his limited work. Morton continues to look comfortable stepping up and navigating in the pocket.
- Lan Larison was again the first running back to receive a carry behind TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson. While it’s tough to judge running backs in these settings (especially with no pads), Jam Miller had some strong moments.
- Eli Raridon continued to be used in 12 personnel packages next to Hunter Henry and was open on an overthrow by Maye. DeVito also missed the rookie high before later connecting.
- Also in the tight end room, UDFA Tanner Arkin got a run with the first unit as a pseudo fullback with Gilliam sidelined. He also took some warmup reps as a long snapper alongside Julian Ashby at one point.
- While contact is limited in these settings, both Christian Elliss and Jesse Luketa drew a reaction from the crowd for plays on running backs.
- After Mike Brown served as the big nickel on Saturday, safety Dell Pettus took over that role Sunday alongside Craig Woodson and Kevin Byard.
- Andy Borregales went 6-for-6 in his first field goal period of the summer, with distances appearing to range from 30 to 50 yards.
- The Patriots will be back on the practice fields on Monday for Day 3 of camp which is set to be a walkthrough that starts at 10 a.m. ET. Head coach Mike Vrabel will speak beforehand.
