The Patriots got a little healthier on Monday, and the offense had a few moments worth remembering as the team keeps building toward a busy week at Gillette Stadium.
Will Campbell and Carlton Davis both returned to practice in Foxborough, with Campbell working as a full participant through team drills and 1-on-1s. Davis was limited, and the Patriots also did not have Charles Woods, who had been taking a bulk of the first-team reps for Davis during scrimmage work. Defensive lineman Christian Barmore was out again after missing Saturday’s session as well.
New England is still in shorts and shells, but the next step comes fast. The Patriots are set to host a joint practice with the Colts on Tuesday before the preseason opener Thursday night, and the pads are going back on for the first time this season.
The biggest offensive moments came from Romeo Doubs and Kyle Williams. Doubs, who has been relatively quiet through camp, made the kind of catch that grabs attention: he high-pointed a Drake Maye throw and held on as he fell into the end zone for a touchdown to finish the two-minute drill.
Williams added a deep catch from Tommy DeVito, and his speed continues to stand out in a crowded wide receiver room. A.J.
Brown also had a clean-looking grab on a curl route with two defenders nearby.
Maye was steady overall, finishing 10-for-16 in team drills without a turnover.
There was also some movement along the offensive line. Last week, Marcus Bryant had been working with the starters at left tackle while Campbell was out, and Lomu stayed at backup right tackle.
On Monday, Lomu was back on the left side with the second team as he keeps learning multiple spots. “It’s been good to be able to learn both sides of the line, just understand the playbook a little bit more,” Lomu said.
“It’s a little bit different at first, different footwork, different hand placement going the opposite way on one side, but it’s been helping me a lot being able to get more playing time”
One of the quieter little stories of camp came from rookie tight end Tanner Arkin, who made only twelve catches in high school. He mostly played defense then, and that path eventually led him to Colorado State.
“Varsity football was a little rocky for me,” Arkin said. “Started off as a d-end and got hurt my junior year, so I really only played in one scrimmage and only had scrimmage film from my junior year.
I got recruited off of one year of scrimmage film, really.
“Senior year I was playing defense and playing hurt too. It wasn’t the smoothest high school career for me, but I think coaches saw what I brought to the table in the few games that I had.”
And while the Patriots may have flown under the radar a year ago, they won’t have that luxury now. Marcus Jones said earlier in camp that the team is moving from hunter to hunted, and he said the group has handled that mindset well.
“I feel like it’s been a great response,” Jones said. “Every time we come in we feel like we need to prove more and more every single day.
There’s nobody in the building that thinks about complacency so that’s great as well.”
“Taking it one day at a time has been very important as well … our big thing is not making the same mistakes.”
In Other News...
Patriots Camp Battles Are Starting To Reveal How This Roster Could Shift
A day before a joint practice with the Colts, the Patriots were back on the field Monday and getting a better sense of how the roster is taking shape. Carlton Davis returned in a limited capacity after an injury, while Kyle Dixon was out because of his own injury, a reminder that these late-summer practices are as much about availability as they are about evaluation. The session also offered another look at some of the names trying to carve out roles, with Romeo Doubs, Efton Chism III and Tommy DeVito among the players drawing attention.
For New England, these are the kinds of practices that can quietly change a depth chart. With positional shuffling still happening and injury management part of the equation, every rep matters for players trying to make the right impression before the Colts get a closer look. The competition is not settled yet, and Monday only added to the sense that a few roster decisions could be moving in real time. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Move On From A Recent Draft Pick Before Preseason
The Patriots are making another early-summer adjustment to their offensive line depth chart, and this one involves a player they invested in only a year ago. Before the preseason gets rolling, the team is moving on from a recent draft pick as it continues sorting out the best mix up front for the 2026 season.
Caedan Wallace, New Englands 2024 third-round selection, had seen limited action since arriving in Foxborough, appearing in 10 games and making two starts across the past two seasons. For a team still trying to stabilize and reshape its protection plan, the release underscores how quickly roster math can change when a young lineman has not carved out a steady role. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Just Moved On From A Recent Draft Pick As Camp Tightens
Training camp always has a way of sharpening roster decisions, and the Patriots have already made one of the more notable ones on the line. Caedan Wallace, a third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, is no longer on the roster as New England keeps trimming and sorting through its depth ahead of the season.
Niko Lalos is back in the picture too, after first joining the Patriots on a one-year deal, getting let go in May and now returning to the roster. Moves like these are part of the churn this time of year, but with camp tightening, every transaction carries a little more weight as New England keeps refining the group it plans to carry forward. [Read more 🡒]