The New England Patriots put their protective gear back on Sunday as they held a two-hour practice in rainy Foxboro.
Here’s what happened on the back fields of Gillette Stadium.
participation
Absent: TE Austin Hooper*, DL Armon Watts*, LB Joshua Uche, WR JaQuae Jackson, TE Hunter Henry, DL Christian Barmore, WR Kendrick Bourne (PUP), G Cole Strange (PUP), LB Sione Takitaki (PUP)
Limited: CB Shaun Wade
Non-participants: OT Calvin Anderson, LB Oshane Ximines, LB/S Marte Mapu, OL Nick Leverett
Injured: TE Mitchell Wilcox
*New addition
New England again had to miss two players on Sunday: Tight end Austin Hooper was missing after leaving practice early on Saturday, and defensive lineman Armon Watts was also missing.
The tight end room suffered another blow when Mitchell Wilcox, who was the best option with Hunter Henry and Hooper out, left the field early, apparently due to a leg injury.
Findings
Maye remains QB2: Despite being encouraged by reps behind the offensive starting line at the end of practice on Saturday, Drake Maye remained behind Jacoby Brissett on Sunday and was not used by David Andrews.
As for his performance, the rookie always looks better at quarterback than the veteran. Maye was once again decisive and smooth in the red zone, while his best throw of the day came in 11-on-11 play, where he placed a perfect ball on a downfield corner route to KJ Osborn, who made a strong catch over Marcus Jones.
Brissett, on the other hand, still struggled with his accuracy on Sunday, throwing several passes too far. He led a field goal drive and had the only hurry-up period of the day, completing 4 of 8 passes.
We’ve repeated this point countless times, but Maye earned the right to be seriously considered as a starter. He was the best quarterback on the field.
Later tackle swap: The Patriots’ offensive line remained unchanged on Sunday: Vederian Lowe and Chuks Okorafor served as top tackles, while Sidy Sow, David Andrews and Mike Onwenu operated on the interior.
But after a Saturday practice in which New England experimented with several different offensive line combinations, the rotation continued on Sunday. The most notable changes were rookies Caedan Wallace (right tackle) and Layden Robinson (left guard), who rotated in an 11-on-11 period. Wallace then notably took over for Okorafor at right tackle in the final hurry-up drill with Brissett at center.
While Maye played center during parts of the practice, Okorafor also played left tackle and Onwenu played right tackle.
“We’re excited about our offensive line group,” said Eliot Wolf, executive vice president of player personnel, before practice. “We’re still working on finding the right combination, and I think we have all the tools to be competitive.”
Three bells: With the top three tight ends, Jaheim Bell had more snaps available. The rookie took advantage, scoring three touchdowns – from Brissett, Maye and Joe Milton – in an 11-on-11 period in the lower red zone. All three scores came with similar concepts, with Bell working flat along the goal line.
Slye extends lead: It’s been several practices since Chad Ryland or Joey Slye have kicked live field goals, but on Sunday they had chances from beyond the arc — with the team once again crowding around them and serving as a distraction. Ryland started and finished 3 of 5 (with a hit from 43 yards on a rushing situation and two misses from 49 and 56 yards), while Slye followed, hitting 4 of 4.
Summer update: Ryland has now scored 32 of 39 goals, Slye 33 of 39. It looks like this is the veteran’s job from now on.
Slide: The annual tradition returned Sunday, as the Patriots began practice by heading to the back of the practice field where instructors had hosed down a patch of grass. As David Andrews took over the hose, freshmen — and some sophomores — attempted to retrieve a loose football from the wet grass and mud.
With Rose Royce’s “Car Wash” playing in the background, the tradition reached the coaches as well, and some of the new coaches took their turn.
Other notes:
- Rookie Ja’Lynn Polk made his second consecutive first-team appearance, with his highlight being a hard-fought catch on the sideline against Marco Wilson.
- Also a new receiver, Javon Baker, had six targets in team drills, working primarily with the second and third units, but caught just one – a 7-second touchdown from Maye.
- The highlight of the day was wide receiver Kawaan Baker catching a pass from Joe Milton over Marcellas Dial’s back, prompting the entire offensive unit to run off the sideline and celebrate.
- Marco Wilson continued to serve as the best cornerback opposite Christian Gonzalez. Jonathan Jones primarily occupied the slot.
- Alex Austin, who was first in line behind Wilson, was able to intercept two passes.
- A brief scuffle ensued between David Andrews and Davon Godchaux, but it quickly stopped after Brissett’s throwing hand fell on Godchaux’s helmet.
The Patriots will return for another practice on Monday, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. The session will again be open to the media but not open to the public.
