Patriots 2018 OTAs: Setting the schedule for New England's second week of workouts

Memorial Day weekend came and went, and the New England Patriots will soon return to work: After all, the second week of organized team activities is just around the corner and the team will hold a total of three practice sessions over the course of the week. It will be the fourth, fifth, and sixth workouts of this year's OTA cycle.

Let's take a look at the schedule for the next few days:

Wednesday, May 30: practice (closed)

Thursday, May 31: practice (open to the media)

Friday, June 1: practice (closed)

OTA workouts are the third phase of the voluntary offseason workout program. And while New England typically has very good attendance, the team's two biggest stars have of course not yet participated in 2018: Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, as is their right under the collective bargaining agreement, have decided to skip the voluntary workout portion this year. It should therefore not be expected to see them return this week.

The two will, however, be back on the practice fields next week as New England opens its three-day mandatory minicamp on June 5. Until then, the depth options at quarterback and tight end will continue to see more quality reps than usually during this time of the year.