The New England Patriots were back to work on Wednesday for their seventh training camp practice of the summer and third in a row. The increasing number of practices, including back-to-back sessions in full pads on Monday and Tuesday, have left their mark on the team: Wednesday saw several new additions to the list of absentees, as well as other previous full participants joining the ranks of those limited.
Participation and availability were not the only big stories coming out of Foxborough on Wednesday, though. Here is what went down on the fields behind Gillette Stadium.
Setting
Attire: Shoulder pads and shorts
Duration: ca. 105 minutes (10:15-12 p.m. ET)
Conditions: Sunny, temperatures in the 90s
It was another steamy hot day in Foxborough as the Patriots rocked just shoulder pads after two straight days of full pads. New England also moved out of the red area in team work to work in between the 20s.
Attendance
Absent: CB Christian Gonzalez, WR Demeer Blankumsee*, RB Trayveon Williams*, OL Garrett Bradbury*, OT Yasir Durant*, DL Joshua Farmer, LB Jahlani Tavai, WR Mack Hollins (PUP), OT Vederian Lowe (PUP)
Limited: CB Carlton Davis III, LB Harold Landry, DL Christian Barmore
Departed: RB Antonio Gibson, DE Keion White, OL Sidy Sow
There were several new faces absent on Wednesday, including offensive linemen Garrett Bradbury and Yasir Durant, who both left Tuesday’s session early due to injury. Demeer Blankumsee and Trayveon Williams were additional new absences as the Patriots will need to create a roster spot for newly-signed center Alec Lindstorm.
New England did see Sidy Sow, Antonio Gibson, and Keion White leave the field early as well, but only Sow seemed visibly shaken up. The latter two, meanwhile, did not visit the medical shed before departing.
Prior to practice, head coach Mike Vrabel noted that some veterans such as Harold Landry would have different plans moving forward when it comes to their workload.
“Really just trying to put this thing all together and make sure that everybody that needs to get to work for evaluation purposes, a lot of different reasons,” Vrabel explained. “Sometimes it is health-related, but also, I feel like Harold won’t be out there or Morgan [Moses] may come out for individual or some players may come out for team. Try to just give everybody what they need for the season.”
Takeaways
O-line in focus: With Garrett Bradbury sidelined after being rolled up on to end Tuesday’s practice, Ben Brown took over as the starting center with Jared Wilson continuing to be first up at left guard — where the rookie remained impressive. It is fair to wonder if a pair of poor snaps through camp to date led to Wilson sticking at guard over his natural center position.
Along the second unit, now-former starting left guard Cole Strange lined up at center for the first time this summer and had one high snap. Caedan Wallace continued to work at left guard with the twos.
Campbell’s struggles: After a competitive first two days in full pads for fourth overall draft pick Will Campbell, the rookie ran into his fair share of issues on Wednesday. That began in 1-on-1s, when former LSU teammate Bradyn Swinson easily blew past his inside shoulder. Campbell did recover to beat Keion White in his second rep, but the struggles were far from over.
As work transitioned to team periods, edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson beat Campbell for two would-be sacks in a four-play sequence — all again coming from inside moves. The young left tackle was susceptible to inside losses during his time at LSU as well due to a tendency to overset at times which can help compensate his lack of length. The rookie did settle down a bit for the final two team periods, but it was the first clear down day of camp for the 21-year-old.
Maye’s day: After showing shaky accuracy day on Tuesday, quarterback Drake Maye bounced back on Wednesday with one of his more consistent practices of the summer.
Outside of a beautifully thrown go-ball down the right sideline to Kyle Williams for the duo’s second touchdown connection in as many days, there were not many highlight plays. Still, Maye was accurate with just three incompletions on the day (one a throwaway into the dirt on a blown-up screen and one a pass breakup).
Covering Chism: It has been a quieter start to training camp compared to the spring for UDFA Efton Chism III. That hasn’t all necessarily been his fault, however, as the receiver has seen a handful of uncatchable passes come his way despite being open. On the last rep of team work Wednesday, Chism created easy separation against Marcellas Dial Jr. on a corner route but saw Joshua Dobbs’ pass sail over his head.
Chism did see two touches in team periods, including a reception after settling in a zone void. His best work of the day, however, came early in practice in a 2-on-2 drill in the low red area. He was virtually uncoverable against New England’s secondary.
Kicker competition: It was back to the back-and-forth format in New England’s kicking competition after Parker Romo (Monday) and rookie Andres Borregales (Tuesday) handled individual days to start the week. Both kickers were a perfect 4-of-4 working between roughly 35 and 52 yards out.
For Borregales, that marks 10 straight connections after a rocky 2-of-4 performance last Saturday.
Other notes: Your daily “TreVeyon Henderson is fast” update: the rookie running back made a sweet jump cut before exploding to his right for a long gain. … More active day for UDFA Lan Larison which included a catch from Maye. … Austin Hooper lost a fumble after a screen. … A false start highlighted an ongoing trend of daily pre-snap mistakes. … Morgan Moses was more active participating in team drills. … Khyiris Tonga remained disruptive in 1-on-1s and team periods with a would-be sack. … Beyond beating Will Campbell twice, Chaisson appeared to get home on a stunt as well; the offseason pickup continues to stand out. … Alex Austin (pass breakup), Marcellas Dial, and D.J. James continue to see elevated reps at cornerback with Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis out. … Robert Kraft and Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla were in attendance today.
Preview
The Patriots will return to work for a fourth straight day on Thursday. However, session No. 8 will be a slower one: the team announced it as a walkthrough, meaning that the intensity will be scaled back quite a bit after three intense sessions.
As always, gates will open at 9:15 a.m. ET. Practice itself is set to start at 10 a.m. ET., with a select group of players available to talk to the media afterwards.
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