After franchise greats Rodney Harrison and Leon Gray were enshrined into the team’s Hall of Fame, the New England Patriots’ 2019 version took the field inside Gillette Stadium for the annual in-stadium practice exclusively for season-ticket holders. As was expected, there was considerable interest in the session even though it ultimately turned out to be a glorified walkthrough: the 70-minute session was of the lower-tempo variety with players getting a light workload.
Let’s recap what happened:
Attendance
Returned: OT Cole Croston
Not spotted: WR Dontrelle Inman (?), DE Byron Cowart (knee), OT Yodny Cajuste (NFI)
Present but did not participate: WR Julian Edelman (NFI), WR Demaryius Thomas (PUP), OT Cole Croston (PUP), CB Ken Webster (PUP), SS Nate Ebner (PUP)
Present but limited: OT Isaiah Wynn, DE Deatrich Wise Jr.
- Patrick Chung shed the red non-contact jersey for the first time all camp.
- Danny Etling did once again not don the red non-contact jersey that quarterbacks are usually wearing.
Injuries
- Nothing to report.
Offense
Quarterback performance: Tom Brady N/A; Brian Hoyer N/A; Jarrett Stidham N/A; Danny Etling N/A
Offensive line: LT Isaiah Wynn, LG Joe Thuney, OC David Andrews, RG Shaq Mason, RT Marcus Cannon
- While the lineup did change during the course of the session, we did get our first glimpse of the starting offensive line during team drills on Monday night: during a team walkthrough portion, Isaiah Wynn and David Andrews re-joined Joe Thuney, Shaq Mason and Marcus Cannon on the field. Later, Dan Skipper and Cedrick Lang replaced Wynn in the lineup. Ted Karras and James Ferentz, meanwhile, saw some time at right guard today.
- Maurice Harris, Phillip Dorsett, Braxton Berrios and N’Keal Harry spent some time working with Brady on various routes. At one point, Harry dropped a pass down the sideline.
- During a two-minute drill (in walkthrough speed), the Patriots had both James White and Rex Burkhead on the field at running back.
Defense
- Derek Rivers and Jamie Collins Sr. again saw considerable time with the starting defense, as both players have frequently so far during camp. Undrafted rookie cornerback D’Angelo Ross also saw some action with the first team, as did safety Obi Melifonwu and core special teamer/linebacker-in-name-only Brandon King — he of zero defensive snaps over the course of his four NFL seasons.
- The defense used a third-down dime package at one point (three cornerbacks, three safeties) with a light amoeba front. The team used this look multiple times in the playoffs against the Kansas City Chief and the Los Angeles Rams, and it appears as if it will again be a prominent package for the club in 2019.
- Patrick Chung, without his red non-contact jersey, saw the most action of this training camp. While Terrence Brooks still saw considerable reps during 11-on-11 work, the starting safety shedding the red non-contact jersey is a good sign. At one point, Chung even lined up at running back with the Danny Etling-led scout team.