The New England Patriots were back on the fields behind Gillette Stadium for their seventh 2016 training camp session. Once again, practice was in perfect outside conditions and in full pads.
While it did not take as long as the past few practices, it was still an intense session that focused mostly on situational work.
Attendance
The list of players that did not practice looked as follows: RB Brandon Bolden, RB Dion Lewis (PUP), RB Donald Brown, WR Julian Edelman (PUP), WR Danny Amendola (PUP), WR Chris Hogan, WR Malcolm Mitchell, WR Keshawn Martin, WR Nate Washington, TE Clay Harbor (PUP), TE Bryce Williams, OC Bryan Stork, OT Sebastian Vollmer (PUP), OG Tre’ Jackson (PUP), OG Jonathan Cooper, LB Jonathan Freeny, SS Nate Ebner.
Of the 17 players listed above Edelman, Hogan, Washington, Harbor, Vollmer and Freeny were present at the session but did not participate in drills.
Bolden, Mitchell and Williams are new additions to the list. Williams, who had to get his knee iced up yesterday, missed his first session, while Bolden and Mitchell were both absent on Saturday.
Injuries
Rookie running back D.J. Foster was on the field early in practice but left during the session.
Offense
The quarterbacks performed as follows:
11-vs-11:
Tom Brady: 6 of 10, INT
Jimmy Garoppolo: 19 of 20, INT
Jacoby Brissett: 6 of 11
1-vs-1:
Garoppolo: 6 of 8
Brissett: 2 of 4
Garoppolo was really sharp today, continuing his strong training camp.
With six of the Patriots’ 11 wide receivers missing the session, special teams ace Matthew Slater took reps with the first-team offense at one point. He did manage to beat Devin McCourty and connect with Brady on a deep ball early in the session.
Brady also connected with Chris Harper on a deep touchdown, this one from 40+ yards out.
James Develin beat Rob Ninkovich on a wheel route to catch a nice pass from Jimmy Garoppolo.
Josh Kline saw increased reps at center today, while Ted Karras saw a lot of time as the right guard opposite fellow rookie Joe Thuney.
Nate Washington and Chris Hogan, while not partaking in drills, wore pads near the end of the session; a possible indicator of them nearing a return.
The quarterbacks continued working on the always popular bucket drill after the session was over.
Defense
Duron Harmon picked off Brady on a pass intended for Harper, while Jamie Collins intercepted Garoppolo during half-speed drills.
At times, Dont’a Hightower was near unblockable, especially during run drills.
Ninkovich was once again used as a defensive end and linebacker.
Logan Ryan had two pass deflections, CrVon LeBlanc had one.
Special teams
Cyrus Jones, Chris Harper and V’Angleo Bentley worked as the punt returners. At one point, Jones and Bentley practiced catching punts with one hand.
Jones muffed a punt.