FOXBOROUGH, Mass – The New England Patriots held their third straight padded practice on Saturday before the players earned a well-deserved rest day on Sunday. And with that, head coach Mike Vrabel emphasized finishing strong, while also sharing that some key players would be limited as more of a precaution.
“There is just trying to have a plan for everybody and try to finish this third day off really well,” Vrabel said. “Like we always talk about, whether those guys are out there or not, that provides opportunities for other players, and we’ve seen guys do well with those opportunities that they’ve been given.”
1. Gabe Jacas practices
Before practice, head coach Mike Vrabel revealed that rookie edge defender Gabe Jacas was set to take the field for the first time since
the controversy with his contract, having signed his rookie contract on the second day of training camp. Because of that, he's been on the NFI list, but practiced in a limited capacity, taking part in the individual drills.
"We’ll have Gabe [Jacas] back today," Vrabel said. "He won’t be involved in the team reps, but hopefully Monday, we’ll see him back out there."
At one point, Jacas was seen tackling outside linebackers coach Mike Smith to the ground during a rush drill.
Gabe Jacas is off to a hot start pic.twitter.com/wHCwQDlMJF
— Matt Dolloff (@RealMattDolloff) August 1, 2026
2. A.J. Brown has a solid day, but leaves practice early
Drake Maye and A.J. Brown are continuing to pick things up, with every day showing improvement. Brown made three catches, including a heavily contested catch over cornerback Christian Gonzalez during the first 11-on-11 period.
But there was some concern as Brown was seen jogging off the field before practice ended. However, given that some players were participating in a limited capacity and with Sunday being a rest day, the assumption is that that was the situation, as he didn't appear hurt.
Along with Brown, Gonzalez and Marcus Jones also left early.
3. Romeo Doubs is picking things up
Romeo Doubs certainly got off to a slower start this summer, but his connection with Maye is starting to pick up. The veteran receiver caught two passes from Maye and then went on to catch three of his targets during the 11-on-11 session.
However, Doubs did fumble the ball on his final catch of the day.
4. Interceptions for Dell Pettus and Karon Prunty
While the offense had some really impressive moments, there were two interceptions thrown during the session, one from Maye and one from Tommy DeVito. Maye's pass was intended for Mack Hollins, but it was inaccurate and instead was an easy pick for safety Dell Pettus. As for DeVito's throw, it was caught by rookie cornerback Karon Prunty.
5. Lan Larison emerging as No. 3 back
Rhamondre Stevenson was one of the players Vrabel listed as limited for Saturday, so TreVeyon Henderson served as the No. 1 running back. But behind him, it was Lan Larison getting reps, as he is emerging as the No. 3 back on the depth chart as things stand right now.
However, the run defense has proved unstoppable during these early practices, with only one or two runs breaking through. Most are stuffed early on.
6. Quarterback stats
7-on-7s
Drake Maye: 4-of-5
Tommy DeVito: 4-of-4
Behren Morton: 3-of-3
11-on-11s
Drake Maye: 10-of-12, INT
Tommy DeVito: 6-of-11, INT
Behren Morton: 2-of-3
FUMBLES: Romeo Doubs, Lan Larison
INTERCEPTIONS: Dell Pettus, Karon Prunty
7. Attendance
ABSENT: CB Carlton Davis III, OG Alijah Vera-Tucker, FB Reggie Gilliam
PUP: TE CJ Dippre, LB Harold Landry
NFI: RB Terrell Jennings, S Brenden Schooler
RETURNED: DT Christian Barmore,
LIMITED: OT Morgan Moses, WR A.J. Brown, CB Christian Gonzalez, CB Marcus Jones, RB Rhamondre Stevenson, ED Gabe Jacas
8. Other notes:
- With Alijah Vera-Tucker and Morgan Moses out or playing in a limited capacity, it was Ben Brown who stepped in at left guard while Caleb Lomu filled in at times at right tackle.
- Caedan Wallace was also spotted leaving practice early
- Andy Borregales went 5-of-5 on field goal attempts on Saturday. He is 21-of-23 on his attempts through all of training camp.
- UDFA tight end Tanner Arkin took some reps with the first-team offense, catching a pass from Maye during the team period.
- Christian Barmore dominated in 1-on-1s with two big wins over Mike Onwenu and Ben Brown.
What's next?
The Patriots get the day off on Sunday, August 2. They will return to practice on Monday, August 3, with the session set to begin at 10:15 a.m. ET.
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: 8 takeaways from Day 7 of Patriots training camp
