Coming off their most intense practice of the summer so far, the New England Patriots will be back on the Gillette Stadium fields on Friday. It will be their sixth session of training camp and a chance for players to build on the foundation laid through the ramp-up period and the first padded practice on Thursday.
With that said, here is all you need to know about practice No. 6.
Schedule
The Patriots’ sixth practice of training camp will again take place on the fields behind Gillette Stadium. As usual, parking
and attendance are free.
- 10:15 a.m. ET: Practice
- ca. 12:15 p.m. ET: Player availability (QB Drake Maye, QB Tommy DeVito, RB Rhamondre Stevenson, WR Efton Chism III, LB Chad Muma, CB Charles Woods)
As always, of course, the schedule is tentative and subject to change. For more information, please visit our Pats Pulpit Training Camp Guide.
Story of the day
The budding connection between Drake Maye and A.J. Brown was the biggest takeaway from Thursday’s practice, and an encouraging step forward for the pair. The question now is whether it was a sign of things to come or merely an outlier aided by the practice script? And if so, might the same be in store for Romeo Doubs as well at some point?
Long story short, Maye and his new starting receivers continue to get on the same page. Based on yesterday, Brown seems further ahead in that regard.
Injuries to monitor
NFI: RB Terrell Jennings, S Brenden Schooler
PUP: TE C.J. Dippre, ED Harold Landry III, ED Gabe Jacas
Injured: CB Carlton Davis III
TBD: CB Brandon Crossley
Carlton Davis got banged up on Tuesday and was subsequently not able to participate in practice on Thursday. The starting cornerback was one of seven players missing the session. Before it began, head coach Mike Vrabel gave some updates on the injured Patriots, including an optimistic outlook for second-round rookie Gabe Jacas.
Players to watch
WR Kayshon Boutte: Boutte was the Patriots’ best receiver during the non-padded portion of training camp, but on Thursday was quiet. He lost both of his 1-on-1s to the team’s best defender, Christian Gonzalez, and then also went without a catch in team drills. Will he be more actively involved on Friday and able to return to his big-play ways?
WR Kyle Williams: Arguably the top performer on the field on Thursday, Williams hauled in two impressive touchdowns and appeared to build some much-needed momentum. In a way, he is the polar opposite to Kayshon Boutte so far this camp: Williams started slowly but managed to pick up the pace as soon as pads came on.
TE Tanner Arkin: If we had to guess on one undrafted rookie making the team come late August, it would be Arkin. Working as the third tight end behind roster locks Hunter Henry and Eli Raridon, he continued to see regular action with the starters on Thursday and looks like the Patriots’ most reliable blocking tight end. With Julian Hill out for the year, Arkin is the frontrunner to replace him.
LB Khalil Jacobs: Speaking of undrafted rookies, Jacobs has started to make some noise on defense. He has yet to emerge past the second unit, but he looked good on Thursday: he was quick to pull the trigger and registered a run stuff and big tackle versus a screen play in team drills. For rookies like him, it’s all about stringing positive moments together.
CB Kobee Minor: The youngster was on the wrong end of both Kyle Williams touchdowns on Thursday, but with Carlton Davis potentially out again will continue to see prominent action with the second-string defense. If anything, Friday will be a chance to bounce back for the sophomore cornerback.
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), Andrew Guindon (@NestPgs) Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) will bring you live updates from camp on their Twitter/X feeds, so please make sure to give them a follow.
