The Patriots spent their fifth straight practice in full pads back outside on the fields behind Gillette Stadium, and the biggest offensive moments came when the situation got tight. New England worked through a two-minute drill for the first time this summer, with both quarterback groups finding a way into field goal range before Andy Borregales finished each sequence with a make.
Drake Maye’s unit started at the 20-yard line with 1:05 left and had to settle in after an early miss. Maye was off target on a first-down throw over the middle to Romeo Doubs, but he rebounded with two quick completions before hitting Mack Hollins on a chunk play in the middle of the field.
A short slant to A.J. Brown then pushed the offense into range, the clock drained to :04, and Borregales drilled a 54-yarder.
Tommy DeVito followed with a similar script. Hollins again supplied the explosives, and Kayshon Boutte added a sideline grab as the second group moved the ball well enough for Borregales to convert from 49 yards.
Brown’s involvement stood out even more because he was back in action after dislocating his thumb on Monday. He practiced fully on Tuesday, with only a small bandage under his gloves.
“I think he’s going to be okay,“ Mike Vrabel said. ”I told him the linemen do that every other snap, and it’s not a national story when a lineman pops his finger back in place. But we had a little bit of fun with that.“
Maye finished the day on a much better note than he began. After connecting on just one of his first five throws, including a miscommunication with Brown, he closed strong and went 8-of-9, not counting two spikes.
Brown was a major part of that finish, catching four passes from Maye as the pair kept leaning on slants. Maye also found Boutte on a back-shoulder throw, and Boutte ended with five catches overall, including two from Maye.
Borregales kept stacking good days onto a strong summer. He made all five of his field goal attempts, with his longest from 52 yards, and then added two pressure kicks to cap the two-minute work. That pushes our tracking to 28-of-30 this training camp.
“He’s made the majority of his field goals, a high majority,” Vrabel said before practice. “I think that that’s something that’s a fine balance of where you want your kicker to be.
If you feel good about the competition or the job that he did last year, then I’ll just try to evaluate that each week. I think he’s continuing to work with Tom [Quinn] on his steps, the consistency and everything else.”
On the defensive side, the Patriots had their top two edge rushers active in Dre’Mont Jones and Elijah Ponder. Ponder broke up a pass while dropping into coverage early in competitive work, then later looked like he beat Morgan Moses around the edge. Jones closed hard at the end of the day and appeared to record what would have been two sacks.
Rookie Gabe Jacas saw a slightly larger workload again in his third practice of the summer. Vrabel said, “These situations he has to just understand, and it’s good to see him get acclimated to the special team stuff.
So, I think it’s going well,” Vrabel said of Jacas. “I think we’re off to a good start, and hopefully he can continue to keep adding things and figure out where he can help us defensively and really, special teams.”
Kyle Williams returned as a full participant after arriving late and observing Monday’s session. He caught his only target from DeVito and also slipped open deep for what could have been an easy touchdown in two-minute work, but the throw sailed long. Efton Chism continued to get work with the top offense and caught two passes from DeVito.
Among the other offensive notes, undrafted receiver Nick DeGennaro adjusted well downfield to make a catch from Behren Morton on a deep ball. Terrell Jennings, back from the NFI list, opened with the second-team offense before Lan Larison rotated in. Eli Raridon stayed quiet again after dropping his lone full-team target on Monday and not seeing a target on Tuesday.
The run game still had a hard time getting traction against the defensive front. Joshua Farmer blew up one Rhamondre Stevenson carry by getting into the backfield.
Chad Muma continued to handle the third linebacker role in base defense and kept showing up near the football. On the back end, UDFA cornerback Channing Canada had a tougher day after a strong practice Monday and was beaten on multiple completions.
Kobee Minor also allowed several catches, though he did break up a pass intended for Kyle Dixon. Rookie cornerback Karon Prunty also made a play, fighting through a block to stop a screen to Lan Larison.
In Other News...
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Rogers also brings a layer of familiarity with the coaching staff, which likely helped make the transition easier once the workout went well. The signing does not affect New Englands salary cap, and it gives the Patriots another experienced option while they continue to manage the edges of the roster with the season moving along. [Read more 🡒]
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Raridon and Arkin have each found ways to stay in the mix through the first weeks, and their work has added a little extra pressure to a competition that was already more open than it first appeared. Karon Prunty has also been part of that quieter roster battle, giving the Patriots more to evaluate as camp moves along and the cuts get closer. Nothing is settled yet, but the way these lesser-known players have kept showing up in key spots suggests the final decisions may be harder than expected. [Read more 🡒]