A remarkable step for Drake Maye on day 18

Drake Maye made a notable move at Patriots training camp on Wednesday.

The Patriots’ final training block of 2024 began Wednesday with the team’s 18th of 20 practices this summer, but the practice resembled a typical regular-season Wednesday rather than a summer session.

This was no big surprise, because head coach Jerod Mayo explained the plan for Wednesday’s practice in advance. “I would say this week is kind of a hybrid week for us as far as preparation goes,” Mayo said in his pre-practice press conference. “We’re still focused on NEP (the New England Patriots), but at the same time trying to make sure our game planning and the whole process — the scouting reporting process — goes smoothly. So you’re going to see some O vs. D out here today. Some of those things are on card (so scouting team repeaters).”

Of course, there is still the opportunity to evaluate players as part of the scout team reps. And as always, the effort players put in this year can be just as notable as their performance. We’ll start there as we get started with today’s Patriots training camp notebook…

Drake Maye receives first “Starter” repetitions

Earlier this week, Jerod Mayo spoke about the importance of Drake May He is building chemistry with the top offense to become a starter. There is just one thing – in the first 17 practices, Maye has not taken any reps with the projected starting offense in protective gear/competition drills and has had few reps with the group in other settings.

That officially changed on Wednesday – but not much. During two 11-on-11 periods, one at the beginning of practice and one afterward, Brissett stepped in with the starters after Jacoby Brissett and took a few snaps before the rest of the backups joined him on the field. There were four snaps in total, and all four plays were handoffs.

Overall, Maye just doesn’t have enough snaps to suddenly be considered a Week 1 starter. It’s a small step, but one that had to happen at some point.

Quarterback performance

Despite not throwing the ball with the top unit, Drake Maye had a very good day with the backups. Maye completed six of his nine passing attempts in 11-on-11 drills and caught several passes down low.

At the same time, his best throw of the day went down as incomplete. He mastered a low snap from the backup center Nick Leverett and recovered to launch the ball about 40 feet into the air. Paul Douglaswho ran behind the defense and into the middle of the field. However, Douglas tried to catch the pass – which was just in front of him but still catchable – with one hand. The result was a drop.

Meanwhile, Jacoby Brissett’s accuracy remains questionable. He finished 4 of 7 and was intercepted by Marcellas dial during a scout team period. Brissett tried to hit Tyquan Thornton on a corner route, but didn’t take it far enough for Dial to break up the throw (Brissett and Thornton had a deep connection later in practice).

Javon Baker continues to fight

In addition to his interception, Jacoby Brissett had another near pick towards the end of practice. He tried to hit Javon Baker on a curl in the middle of the field, but the route was safely jumped AJ Thomas. Some of that is on Brissett’s account, but Baker didn’t come back to the ball as aggressively as he probably could have. It’s a play that might not stand out on its own, but it was notable given Baker’s overall struggles in practice.

Baker still isn’t playing as regularly as he did at the start of training camp and seems to have fallen out of the rotation of top wide receivers. Based on his workouts, it doesn’t look like he’ll play a big role in the offense early in the season.

Important injury in the offensive line

Vederian Lowe was the Patriots’ left tackle for most of the summer, but the team had to adjust on Wednesday when he left practice early.

Lowe’s final play of practice was unnoticeable, and he jogged to the sideline after the replay with seemingly no issues. However, after a minute or two, he went to the practice area with a member of the Patriots’ medical staff. They gave him a quick check and looked at the left side of his torso before he left the practice field entirely. Of course, Lowe’s status as the team’s projected left tackle makes the situation worth monitoring, and we’ll see if he’s back out there tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Lowe’s absence opened up opportunities for the newcomer for the first team Caedan Wallacewho has worked primarily as a right tackle this training camp. Wallace performed well at the position during Wednesday’s practice. That’s far from saying he’s in position to push deep, but it’s also an encouraging sign. If he builds on that, he could establish himself as the next man up if Lowe struggles after returning early in the season, or as the immediate starter if Lowe has to miss some time.

Definitive day in the kicker battle

If the soccer battle wasn’t over by Wednesday, Joey Slye has achieved a very clear victory in this training. He hit all four of his kicks, from 33, 41, 47 and 50 yards. In the meantime Chad Ryland – who has been first in line after Slye for much of the past few weeks – hit his 33-yard throw but then missed the next three shots.

For most of training camp, Slye was clearly the better long-range shooter, but now he’s showing he’s better from mid-range as well. Additionally, two of Ryland’s misses were not close, one went wide to the right and didn’t hit the goal post. His third miss was a rebound off the right post.

Right now, it looks like Slye should clearly be the kicker to start the season. The only question is, will the Patriots keep Ryland (or another kicker) on the practice squad as a second option in case Slye struggles early in the season?

participation

The only new absentee from Patriots practice on Wednesday was defensive tackle Michael Purcellwhose dismissal was announced after training. Tight Ends Hunter Henry And Mitchell Wilcoxtackle Calvin AndersonDefender Christian Barmoreand security Marte Mapu stay outside. Linebackers Joshua Uche And Oshane Ximines Both returned, but were limited.

As mentioned above, Vederian Lowe had to leave the team early due to injury. Cornerback Shaun Wade also left the field late in training and did not return. Linebacker Anfernee Jennings seemed to sprain something in the middle of training and interrupted a few plays, but returned in the next third and trained fully from then on.

What happens next?

The penultimate practice of the Patriots training camp will take place on Thursday afternoon. The last public practice of the summer will take place on Friday.

Alex Barth is a digital content producer and host at 98.5 The Sports Hub. Barth grew up in the Boston area and began covering the New England Patriots, Boston Celtics and Boston Red Sox in 2017 before joining the Hub in 2020. Today, he covers all things Boston sports for 985TheSportsHub.com and also makes live on-air appearances. Alex writes about all New England sports as well as college football. You can follow him on all social media platforms at @RealAlexBarth.