The Patriots took the pedal off ahead of a pair of joint practices, working through a walkthrough on Tuesday rather than a full-speed session. The result was a lighter day behind Gillette Stadium, with players in jerseys, shorts, sneakers and bucket hats for about 80 minutes, from 10:10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET, under sunny skies and temperatures in the high 70s.
Christian Gonzalez was again among the absences, keeping the cornerback on the sideline as New England managed a familiar group of sidelined players. Mike Vrabel addressed Gonzalez’s status Monday, saying, “He’s just in the return to play,” before adding, “We’ll continue to work through that, and he’ll continue to try to improve and try to get back out on the field.”
Also out Tuesday were OLB Xavier Holmes, LB Chad Muma, OL Ben Brown and WR Kyle Dixon. Harold Landry III and Brenden Schooler remained on the PUP/NFI list. On the positive side, wide receiver Kobe Prentice was back after missing time, and outside linebacker Jesse Luketa was present after leaving Monday’s practice early.
With the tempo slowed down, a few roster and usage clues still popped. Efton Chism III kept working with the first-team offense and has now been used as a personal protector over the past two practices, a new wrinkle for him. Behind Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson, the running back pecking order continues to point toward veterans Hassan Haskins and JaMycal Hasty as the top options.
Up front on defense, rookie pass rushers Gabe Jacas and Quintayvious Hutchins are still getting first-team reps behind Dre’Mont Jones and Elijah Ponder. Julian Edelman also was on hand for the session.
The Patriots’ thin interior line depth has become a storyline after top backups Ben Brown and Andrew Rupcich went down in the preseason opener, and the team reportedly added veteran guard Greg Van Roten this week. He wasn’t at Tuesday’s walkthrough, but the fit looks straightforward given his ties around the building: Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas, and personnel figures Eliot Wolf and Ryan Cowden in Green Bay and New York, along with Morgan Moses and Alijah Vera-Tucker with the Jets.
“Very smart player,” Vera-Tucker said of Van Roten.
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