After an off-day Sunday, the Patriots were back on the field Monday and quickly found themselves dealing with the same theme that’s followed this camp: injuries.
New England worked in full pads for about two hours, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET, under sunny skies and temperatures in the high 70s.
The session shifted back to red-zone work, an area the Patriots have kept circling after last season’s struggles inside the 20. Mike Vrabel also pointed out that the team’s red-zone work in the second joint practice against the Eagles “was not their best.”
The practice took place on the lower field in front of the New Balance Athletics Center for the first time this summer, and the surface was a problem from the start. Players were slipping all over the grass, and Rhamondre Stevenson said the footing caught everyone off guard.
“We haven’t practice there in a minute,” Rhamondre Stevenson said. “I know we were all slipping. We need to find our footing down there.”
The injury list remained long. Craig Woodson, Bryce Baringer, Kobe Prentice, Jam Miller, Lan Larison, Kenneth Harris, Marcus Bryant, Xavier Holmes, Khalil Jacobs, Mehki Butler, Lorenz Metz, Ben Brown and Cory Durden were all out. Harold Landry III and Brenden Schooler stayed on PUP/NFI.
Vrabel said the Patriots had a “good list of guys” working through injuries after their second preseason game, and Woodson was among them after leaving Thursday’s last practice early. Baringer was hurt in the preseason game, which led New England to sign veteran Matt Haack. The team also added offensive lineman Jack Conley, so two corresponding roster moves still need to be made.
TreVeyon Henderson also ran into trouble on the slippery field. He was with the training staff checking on his right foot/ankle after slipping on a cut and did not return.
There was one encouraging note on the health front: Christian Gonzalez was back and took part fully.
Rhamondre Stevenson kept making his case as the top back in the offense. The clearest example came at the end of practice, when the top unit had 55 seconds left and the ball at the 35-yard line.
Stevenson first caught a pass in the flat to beat a blitz, then Drake Maye came right back to him on a wheel route down the left sideline. Stevenson finished the play with a catch over his shoulder in the back corner of the end zone, with Robert Spillane in tight coverage.
Even before Henderson’s injury, Stevenson has been handling the lead role and has put together what he called a strong summer.
“I feel great. Probably one of my healthier training camps. My body feels fresh,” Stevenson said.
Greg Van Roten’s workload also picked up after he signed last week. He had not been involved in team periods during the joint practices with the Eagles, but Monday he mixed in at both guard spots and center with the first-team offense.
He stood out in 1-on-1 work and also took snaps at center with Tommy DeVito’s group, though one of those snaps was low. With Ben Brown sidelined, Van Roten looks like New England’s top interior backup.
The second unit on the offensive line was mostly James Hudson, Darrian Dalcourt, Jacob Rizy, Joe Michalski and Caleb Lomu from left to right.
John Saunders Jr. kept building his case with another takeaway. He intercepted Tommy DeVito to finish an end-of-game drive, giving him five interceptions for the summer, four of them coming on the practice fields. Kevin Byard didn’t hold back on Saunders’ camp.
“John definitely has the most turnovers this camp. He’s been balling out of control,” fellow safety Kevin Byard said. “He’s a ballhawk.”
The Patriots will wrap up training camp with their final practice Tuesday before Thursday’s preseason finale in Cleveland. Practice is set for 2:30 p.m. ET, and Eliot Wolf will speak beforehand at his annual training camp press conference.
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