TEAM TALK
- Patriots sign offensive lineman Tyler Gauthier.
- Mike Dussault’s Unfiltered Notebook: Veterans Rex Burkhead and Shaq Mason were glad to finally get on the football field after a virtual offseason.
- Paul Perillo’s Training camp blogservations 8/12: Football is back!
- Erik Scalavino talks with veteran free agent WR Damiere Byrd who is finally getting his chance to show what he can do on the field, and he wants to prove he can be more than just a fast guy.
- Training Camp Review podcast: Full practice recap as New England kicks off phase 2 of camp practices. Find out who stood out and our impressions on some of the new additional to the team. (5.15 min.)
- Practice highlights from Wednesday. (1 min. video)
- Video Conferences: Damiere Byrd (10.31 min. video) - Rex Burkhead (13.08 min. video) - Shaq Mason (9.04 min. video)
LOCAL LINKS
- Evan Lazar gives us his takeaways from the Patriots first training camp practice, with players in helmets and shells. 1. Jarrett Stidham’s throwing motion in focus.
- Doug Kyed highlights some player takeaways from an energetic first training camp practice.
- Ryan Hannable has the Patriots reactions to the first training camp practice: There was great energy.
- Alex Barth says the Patriots threw a bone to those of us starving for football by live-streaming the first half hour of practice. “From a football point of view, the biggest news was seeing the Patriots quarterbacks take practice reps for the first time.”
- Mark Daniels reports Cam Newton makes a good first impression with rave reviews by his new teammates, who likely cannot wait to see what the Patriots’ offense looks like when pads are put on Monday.
- Doug Kyed looks at what the Patriots’ brief glimpse of practice tells us about the QB competition.
- Mark Daniels finds WR Damiere Byrd happy to reunite with Cam Newton.
- Zack Cox explains how replacing Marcus Cannon will be no small feat for the Pats. His loss is “huge”.
- Mike Reiss discusses how the Patriots’ linebacker youth movement accelerates without Dont’a Hightower. After being initially“jarred” by the decision, ILB coach Jerod Mayo is taking a ‘next man up’ mentality.
- Doug Kyed talks about the running backs gaining a new perspective from coach Troy Brown.
- Zack Cox reports Lamar Miller officially signs his contract with the Patriots, according to his agent.
- Ryan Hannable ranks the Patriots in terms of who has the most to prove in 2020.
- CBS Boston notes the Pats are among teams exploring ‘pods’ system to get fans into the stadium on game days.
- Tom E. Curran takes stock of how the pandemic is affecting the NFL as a whole, admits that so far it’s been positive news.
- Nick O’Malley passes along a rumor that Dont’a Hightower chanted ’28-3, 28-3′ to encourage his fiancee through 17-hour labor. /I would have hit him.
- Locked On Patriots podcast: Today’s topic, the unofficial competition for the starting QB position. (37 min.)
- NESN Patriots Podcast: Doug Kyed and Zack Cox preview a socially distant training camp in Foxboro and go in-depth on what to expect from the QB battle between Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer. (34 min.)
NATIONAL NEWS
- NFL Nation (ESPN) 2020 NFL training camp position battles for all 32 teams: Quarterback openings for Patriots, Dolphins, more.
- Staff (ESPN) Best of Wednesday at NFL training camps: Helmets come out, Dak talks contract, Ruggs burns on deep ball.
- Conor Orr (SI) The 12 teams that could win Super Bowl LV. No. 2 Patriots.
- Albert Breer (SI) Mailbag: Future changes to NFL’s TV packages; Impact of canceled college games; More.
- Joel Corry (CBS Sports) Agent’s Take: Six teams under pressure to extend star players before franchise tag decisions loom in 2021.
- Jason La Canfora (CBS Sports) These four teams will benefit most if NFL scraps out of conference games and alters 2020 schedule on the fly. Patriots included.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Will NFL consider Friday night games?
- Judy Battista, et al (NFL.com) Unbreakable NFL records: Brady is the only quarterback to win six Super Bowls, having also suffered three narrow defeats along the way.
- Gil Brandt (NFL.com) Top 10 offensive-defensive duos in the NFL in 2020. No Pats.
- Nick Shook (NFL.com) Bills sign coach Sean McDermott to contract extension through 2025.
- Charles Robinson (Yahoo! Sports) Cowboys owner Jerry Jones tips off how NFL teams plan to host fans in a pandemic.
- Jason Owens (Yahoo! Sports) Tom Brady’s Bucs debut will be played without fans in the stands.
- Charles Robinson (Yahoo! Sports) Snitch your hearts out, everyone. The NFL season may depend on it.
- Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler (ESPN) What the college football season’s uncertainty means for the NFL and 2021 NFL draft.
EXTRACURRICULAR
- Darren Hartwell relays Joe Montana, who apparently was aware of Tom Brady’s unhappiness back in February after the two chatted at Super Bowl LIV.
- Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Ratings way down for ‘Hard Knocks’.
- Nick O’Malley notes Deion Sanders is leaving NFL Network to join Barstool Sports.
- Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) NFL: Less than one percent of COVID-19 tests have been positive.
- Jason Owens (Yahoo! Sports) Why doesn’t NFL commit to daily COVID-19 testing once the games begin?
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Report: Commissioner likely will have committee of outside advisors for COVID-19 issues. /aka fall guys.