The Patriots opened their 2026 training camp on Saturday with a 90-minute session behind Gillette Stadium, and the first day was built around installation more than collisions. There were no pads, very little contact, and a heavy emphasis on the zone run game.
“There’ll be a few more runs. We have to get into that,” Mike Vrabel said before the session.
“Admittedly there’ll be more zone runs, to take away some of those double teams that you have and some of the the gap scheme runs. We we’ll save pads for that… So, there’ll be some of that with the outside zone.
We’ll work on first and second down. We’ll have tempo.”
The roster was nearly spotless. Gabe Jacas was the lone absence, while Terrell Jennings, C.J.
Dippre, Harold Landry III, and Brenden Schooler were on PUP/NFI. No injuries were reported, and outside of those names the Patriots had perfect attendance for Day 1.
Christian Gonzalez was one of the biggest early storylines. After Robert Kraft said the team had offered him a contract extension that would make him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history, Gonzalez was a full participant Saturday. That was a noticeable shift from the spring, when he missed a large chunk of voluntary work and sat out full-team drills during mandatory minicamp.
He was tested right away. Drake Maye’s first throw of camp went toward A.J. Brown with Gonzalez locked in coverage, helping force an incompletion.
“I think I had too,” Maye said. “One-on-one over there with Gonzo. I was going to try to start off the camp with a little bang.”
Maye was aggressive throughout his four periods. He threw only nine times in competitive work, but one of the day’s best plays came early when he hit Kayshon Boutte on a deep ball as the receiver dove for it. Later, Maye threaded a seam throw to Hunter Henry just over Christian Elliss, then found an open DeMario Douglas over the middle for a chunk gain.
The receiver rotation had its own shape. A.J.
Brown did not catch a pass, while Romeo Doubs made his lone target count with a catch from Maye. Those two spent much of the afternoon with Maye’s group, and Douglas often worked as the third receiver in 11-personnel.
Boutte split work with both the first and second units and only caught the deep ball from Maye. Kyle Williams, Mack Hollins, and Efton Chism III mostly lined up with Tommy DeVito and Behren Morton. Chism caught one pass from Morton and had another target sail well high from DeVito.
Up front, the Patriots rolled out the offensive line many expected: Will Campbell, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jared Wilson, Mike Onwenu, and Morgan Moses from left to right. Caleb Lomu got work as the sixth lineman and also filled in at right tackle for Moses, while James Hudson saw time there as well.
Vera-Tucker was a full participant after ending the spring in that same role while working back from last year’s season-ending triceps injury. The day also ended with a bad snap between Wilson and Maye, and the quarterback took the blame.
Defensively, New England kept leaning into three-safety looks, continuing a spring trend. Kevin Byard and Craig Woodson were joined by free-agent addition Mike Brown, who slid into the slot in those packages. Dell Pettus handled that role with the second unit and also came on when the Patriots went big nickel.
There were a few other notable developments. DeVito opened with a rough first period, missing all three of his throws, though he settled in some during his second session. Morton had several sharp completions to Chism and also showed poise by stepping up in the pocket to find Myles Montgomery.
Rookie tight end Eli Raridon got only limited work with the first group behind Hunter Henry. His first target, from DeVito, sailed high up the seam, but the two connected in the next period on a sail route.
With Landry and Jacas out, Dre’Mont Jones and Elijah Ponder worked as the top edge defenders, while Bradyn Swinson mixed into the rotation and knocked down a pass at the line.
Tempo was part of the offensive rhythm all afternoon, with the unit often hurrying back to the line after bigger plays, just as Vrabel had previewed.
Coach DeAndre Hopkins was also on hand and worked with the wide receivers before practice.
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