With the Indianapolis Colts set to arrive for a joint practice Tuesday, the Patriots eased into their 13th camp session on Monday. New England went with shells and helmets instead of the full pads that had been a regular sight last week, making for a lighter day between off-days.
Even in a toned-down practice, Romeo Doubs kept making noise.
The wideout, who had been quiet early in camp, looked like a player finding his footing. Doubs hauled in two touchdowns against Christian Gonzalez, and both were the kind of reps that make a receiver stand out.
The first came in an end-of-game situation, when he went up over Gonzalez to secure a 3-yard fade with 0:02 left. Later, he beat Gonzalez again on a back-shoulder score.
Gonzalez has been New England’s best defender this summer and may be its best player overall, so Doubs turning in that kind of day mattered.
Efton Chism III also kept building his case for a roster spot. The sophomore receiver led the Patriots with seven catches in team drills, and one of them came from Drake Maye.
Chism has been splitting time between the first and second units, and he continues to look productive. His best moment on Monday came on a leaping 50-50 touchdown from Tommy DeVito against Marcellas Dial Jr.
The Patriots also mixed things up along the offensive line. Even with Will Campbell and Morgan Moses both available as full participants, Caleb Lomu moved to left tackle, his college position at Utah, while Marcus Bryant shifted to the right side.
Both backups worked with the second and first units. Lomu, in particular, had a strong day and went 3-0 in 1-on-1s.
Gonzalez, for his part, didn’t have a bad practice just because Doubs beat him twice. Those were difficult plays to defend, and otherwise the cornerback was sharp.
He forced a pair of incompletions while matched up with A.J. Brown and also broke up a pass intended for Kayshon Boutte during the two-minute segment.
Kindle Vildor may also be making a move in the secondary. Carlton Davis was back on the field Monday, but Vildor got the starting job opposite Gonzalez and built on what he showed in Friday’s scrimmage.
At one point, he stayed step for step with Doubs before turning at the right moment to knock away a deep ball from Maye. The competition for the CB5 spots is still sorting itself out, but Vildor appears to be climbing.
In Other News...
Patriots Players Just Got A Frustrating Gillette Reality Check
Gillette Stadiums field is getting attention for all the wrong reasons as the Patriots head toward preseason. The current artificial turf has drawn plenty of complaints over the years, and the team now has to get the surface ready again before games begin, with the Colts coming in for the opener. For a roster that has long heard players push for natural grass, it is another reminder that the playing surface in Foxborough remains a point of frustration.
Robert Kraft, though, is not signaling any bigger change is coming. The Patriots are moving ahead with the immediate fix to satisfy league standards, but the broader turf-versus-grass debate still looks stuck in place, even as players continue to make their preference known. For now, the question is less about whether Gillette will be ready for the next game and more about whether the field situation ever gets addressed beyond the short term. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Just Got A Painful Reminder About Their WR1 Problem
The receiver market can change quickly in training camp, and Brian Thomas Jr. is a reminder of how hard it can be to land the kind of help a passing game desperately needs. The former first-round pick was viewed by some as a possible trade target for New England, which has been looking for more punch at the top of its receiver depth chart, but those talks always depended on Jacksonville being willing to move on from a player with obvious upside.
Instead, the early reports out of Jaguars camp have Thomas trending in the opposite direction, with signs that he looks sharper and more polished than he did a year ago. For the Patriots, it leaves the same basic challenge in place as they move through camp with A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs at the front of the group, while a receiver many believed could have been available now looks like he might be headed toward a real comeback season in Jacksonville. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Backup QB Just Forced His Way Into This Competition
A one-day joint practice with the Colts at Gillette Stadium gave the Patriots a useful mid-August look at where things stand, and it also offered a reminder that the backup quarterback competition may not be going quietly. Drake Maye and Tommy DeVito both turned in notable sessions as New England mixed in players returning from injury, including Christian Barmore and Charles Woods, while the practice field also reflected the usual late-summer churn of absences.
DeVito, in particular, made the day interesting by stacking together several scoring plays in team work, giving the Patriots another evaluation point behind Maye. The depth chart will keep shifting as camp moves on, and the larger picture around the roster remains unsettled with some absences still tied to injuries and contract issues, but practice against Indianapolis at least showed that the backup job is far from a formality. [Read more 🡒]