Training camp is in full swing as the New England Patriots held their first three practices of the summer this past week. After a day off on Saturday, the group is set to get back to work which soon brings the addition of pads to practice.
For anything that may have slipped through the cracks during our training camp coverage, let’s empty out the notebook in this week’s Sunday Patriots Notes.
1. Offseason prep: The Patriots returned to the practice fields to begin training camp this past week. But, for this new-look Patriots offense, the work began even earlier.
Several weeks before players reported back to Foxboro, veteran Jacoby Brissett reached out to a handful of his teammates to suggest throwing sessions prior to training camp. He needed to send just one text to get a group together.
“He said it one time, and everybody said, ‘For sure,’” rookie quarterback Joe Milton shared.
The group met for two days down in Boca Raton, Fla. to build off their work from the spring in preparation for the summer. The turnout was strong, as all four Patriots quarterbacks attended as did a handful of wide receivers, a group that included Ja’Lynn Polk, K.J. Osborn, DeMario Douglas, Tyquan Thornton, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Austin Hooper, La’Michael Pettway, and others.
“It was a good turnout,” Bailey Zappe said. “It is a good sign — especially when you can reach out to everybody, everybody responds, and everybody shows up. That just shows that everybody wants to go out there and work.”
Beyond the work on the field, the group spent plenty of time off the field together. That included activities such as going out eat, bowling, and more.
“It was great — very helpful to bond outside of football,” Milton said. “Bowling, football, just being around each other to get better chemistry.”
“Good to see those guys and check in over the break and just keep working,” rookie Drake Maye added. “Camaraderie. We went bowling. Those guys are fun. We went out to eat so we did a lot of things. Just down, there’s a chance to keep in mind, even though we’re on break, what’s the main thing — that’s working to get better.”
The relationships in the QB room will be one to monitor throughout the offseason, as plenty of internal competition exists within the group of four. But while they are fighting each other for jobs, Brissett has made sure to remind the group they are teammates as well.
“I said this in the room the other day, ‘Let’s go out there and compete against each other, but also when we do something right, let’s not be too far ahead that we can’t cheer for the next person,’” Brissett said. “This league is hard enough. Might as well go out there and have fun.”
Through three days of training camp, the Patriots offense has expectedly been behind a New England defense that returns the majority of their starters from the past season. Work is left to be done, but the early signs of the remodeled quarterback room have been positive — beginning with the current starter.
“Jacoby’s leading the way there at quarterback. He’s been in the scheme before, and he’s really displayed a lot of leadership,” head coach Jerod Mayo said. “I’m happy where they are. They’re out here, they’re working hard, and that’s really all you can ask for. The progress will continue to go.”
2. Open remarks: There’s been plenty of changes with the Patriots in the past few months, and nothing may represent the shift in culture more than Matthew Judon and Davon Godchaux’s open and honest remarks about their contract situation this past week.
Such comments were rare under Bill Belichick’s watch, but Mayo is open to the public discourse when necessary.
“I’m good with it,” he said. “I don’t want to put a cap on it. If the guy feels a certain type of way, he has that privilege to come out here and tell you guys how he feels. I have to respect it no matter what.
“At some point in time, there’s going to be a player that comes up here and says, ‘You know what, I hate Coach Jerod’ or, ‘I hate Mayo.’ That’s how they feel, and I respect that. I know we want to keep as much stuff in-house, but there will be times they come out here and express themselves. I think it’s good.”
3. Lounging: Another change down at One Patriot Place has been the addition of a player’s lounge. The lounge, which features a pool table, ping pong, and video games, was put in place to give players somewhere to go and interact with each other during their down time — instead of just sitting in their lockers on their phone.
4. Zappe’s snaps: The Patriots must ultimately decide whether Jacoby Brissett or Drake Maye is starting Week 1 at some point this summer. But, they also must make a decision at the No. 3 quarterback position between Bailey Zappe and Joe Milton. Over the last two practices, Milton has repped over Zappe in competitive team drills.
“The quality is what you make of it. The quantity is all the same,” Zappe said Friday. “I don’t really get into, ‘Oh, he got one more than I did’ or anything like that. That’s left to the coaches. It’s based off the quality of those reps.”
5. Depth battles: Two other depth roster battles on the offensive side of the ball this summer include RB3 duties behind Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson, as well as a third or fourth tight end behind veterans Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper — and perhaps rookie Jaheim Bell.
Through three training camp practices, third-year back Kevin Harris has seen plenty of run behind/with Stevenson as Gibson remains on the NFI list, while tight end Mitchell Wilcox’s heavy usage has carried over from the spring.
6. Maye’s mindset: Drake Maye threw his first interception of training camp on Friday, a so-called “rookie mistake” as he blindly threw a check-down right to Matthew Judon. For Maye, turning the page is a priority — something he did as he ended practice completing his next four passes.
“You can’t ride the ups and downs,” he said following practice. “Every plays a new play and I just can’t be too hard on myself. Sometimes I get too hard on myself, especially like I said, throw my first interception. But yeah, just gotta bounce back.
“It’s how you bounce back in this league and I’m starting to learn that and I bet it’s a lot different in the game when it really matters so that’s what practice is for.”
7. Morning meetings: Training camp practices have started 90 minutes later this year then they have in year’s pasts. The change was to allow adequate meeting time in the morning before practice, instead of holding meetings later in the afternoon — with the goal of allowing players to brush up on certain things before taking the field.
8. Flipping: Beyond watching Joe Milton launch 60-plus yard bombs on the practice fields, the rookie has caught eyes by hitting his traditional back-flip celebration.
“My dad taught me when I was 3, so I’ve been flipping ever since,” Milton said after practice Friday. “I don’t think it’ll ever leave me as a person, so when I get older I’ll be flipping, as well… I did it every game at Tennessee.”
9. Strong fit: “I definitely want to be here. But at the end of the day, I pay somebody to do the business. My job is just go out there and be who I am, be the best version of myself and try to get the best out of my guys. I love the area, not too far from home, it’s the perfect fit for me, and I love the guys here,” Jabrill Peppers said the day before agreeing to a new three-year contract extension with the team.
10. Setting up the week ahead: After an off day on Saturday, the Patriots return to the practice fields on Sunday before they are expected to put the pads on for the first time this summer on Monday. The team is additionally set to practice on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with off days scheduled for Wednesday and Sunday.
