FOXBORO, Mass. — Through six training camp practices, there’s no reason to believe Drake Maye has a chance to start for the New England Patriots in Week 1.
That’s not to say Patriots fans should panic about Maye, who’s supposed to be the future of the franchise. He’s going through typical rookie growing pains, and we all knew he was drafted as a raw prospect. Still, Tuesday’s padded practice offered yet another reminder that New England’s quarterback competition isn’t close.
Let’s get into everything that stood out on Day 6 of Patriots training camp.
Patriots Practice Observations for Tuesday, July 30
Attire
Full pads.
Attendance
The following players were absent from practice:
- LB Sione Takitaki (PUP)
- OL Jake Andrews (PUP)
- OL Cole Strange (PUP)
- WR Kendrick Bourne (PUP)
- DT Christian Barmore
- S/LB Marte Mapu
- EDGE Matthew Judon
- C David Andrews
- TE Jaheim Bell (new)
- S Jabrill Peppers (new)
Judon wasn’t spotted anywhere after making multiple appearances in street clothes at Monday’s practice. His contract dispute might be reaching a breaking point.
Barmore, who was diagnosed with blood clots on Sunday, has now missed three consecutive practices. It’s unclear whether he’ll return at any point this season.
Peppers missed his first practice of camp after appearing to suffer a leg injury on Monday.
David Andrews missed his second straight practice. It’s unclear whether he’s dealing with an injury.
Bourne, who’s rehabbing a torn ACL suffered last October, was present but not in full pads. He’s making steady progress.
Mapu was in street clothes for the fourth consecutive practice. His injury situation remains unclear.
Jake Andrews is dealing with an undisclosed injury, likely the same one that kept him out of minicamp. We haven’t seen him down on the rehab field, and it might be fair to wonder whether he’s dealing with a long-term injury.
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Bell missed his first practice of camp after being limited on Monday. His injury situation is unclear.
Strange continues to rehab from a torn patellar tendon suffered late last season. He might sit out half the 2024 season, if not the entire campaign.
Takitaki is still recovering from an offseason knee scope, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss. The veteran linebacker previously said he wouldn’t miss a single day of camp, but he has missed the first five practices.
Here are some additional injury notes:
- JuJu Smith-Schuster limped off at the end of practice and later explained that he tripped “on a rock.”
- Smith-Schuster, Bourne, Jalen Reagor, Joshuah Bledsoe, Jeremiah Pharms, and Antonio Gibson didn’t participate in sprint drills at the end of practice, instead stretching at the far end of the field.
- DeMario Douglas wore a red non-contact jersey and participated in team drills for the first time since the start of camp.
Patriots receiver DeMario “Pop” Douglas is practicing in a red non-contact jersey today. Here he is corralling a high throw with his previously injured left hand. Good sign for his progress. Hard to tell the WR hierarchy without him or Kendrick Bourne participating. pic.twitter.com/dNZ9cdRi7u
— Matt Dolloff (@mattdolloff) July 30, 2024
Patriots’ QB Training Camp Battle | Day 6
Jacoby Brissett
11-on-11s: 6-for-11, one sack
7-on-7s: 2-for-4
It was another solid day for Brissett, who delivered arguably the three best plays of the day: two 20-yard TDs (one to Hunter Henry, one to Ja’Lynn Polk) and a completion to K.J. Osborn on a well-designed deep crosser. Brissett once again saw all the reps with the top offensive line and played like the best quarterback on the field.
Drake Maye
11-on-11s: 5-for-11
7-on-7s: 3-for-4
This is now three straight bad practices for Maye, who’s fighting through adversity.
Some of his struggles have been due to pressure, a trend that continued on Tuesday. But he also missed multiple open receivers, threw a hospital ball, and looked sped up against pressure. He had just one completion over 10 yards.
Better days are ahead for Maye. But at this point, he doesn’t look close to NFL-ready.
Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye pic.twitter.com/KCvYEigPR8
— Dakota Randall (@DakRandall) July 30, 2024
Joe Milton III
11-on-11s: 3-for-5
7-on-7s: zero reps
Milton did a solid job with his opportunities, including throwing consecutive TDs to Polk and Smith-Schuster during an 11-on-11 period. If you removed all required context, particularly the defenders he’s played against, you could argue Milton has looked better than Maye since the start of camp.
Bailey Zappe
11-on-11s: zero reps
7-on-7s: 3-for-4
Zappe didn’t see any reps in 11-on-11s, another sign that he’s well behind Milton in the battle for the No. 3 QB job. He also had multiple overthrows during receiver 1-on-1s.
Best and Worst Performances From Day 6 of Patriots Training Camp
DL Keion White | STUD
You could make a case that White has been the best player in camp. He plays well every day and throws the offense off-script with his relentless pressure. At one point on Tuesday, he blew by rookie tackle Caedan Wallace to blow up a Gibson run attempt.
The Patriots will need pressure to come from somewhere if Christian Barmore misses extended time — let alone if Judon isn’t around. White is primed to fill the void.
WR Ja’Lynn Polk | STUD
We could put him in this section every day. His 20-yard TD over Marco Wilson was the best play of the day, and he seemingly always makes the most catches in team drills. Perhaps it’s just because he’s been that much better than other recent Patriots rookie receivers in training camp, but Polk looks like the best pure receiver on the team.
TE Hunter Henry | STUD
Henry beat Bledsoe for a great diving touchdown on a pass from Brissett. He hasn’t been too busy during team periods this summer, but the veteran tight end is consistent and catches most passes thrown his way. Henry’s days as a Pro Bowl-caliber tight end might be over, but he’s still the offense’s top red-zone target.
QB Drake Maye | DUD
There’s no sugarcoating it: Maye’s played poorly for most of camp and looks like a project at quarterback. The flashes of brilliance have been there, but the valleys have overshadowed the peaks and he’s looked overwhelmed in trying to adjust to an NFL offense. Right now, Maye is learning to crawl.
Hopefully, Maye can reset on the off day and return on Thursday with a clearer head.
OL Atonio Mafi | DUD
Mafi’s been one of the worst players in camp. Drafted as a guard, the second-year pro is playing center while Jake Andrews remains sidelined due to an injury. The results have been terrible, with Mafi struggling both in blocking and with his snaps. He had two more bad snaps on Tuesday, both to Maye.
At this point, Mafi looks like a roster long-shot, which is disappointing considering he showed promise at guard as a rookie.
Offensive Line | DUD
It wasn’t all bad for the O-line on Tuesday, as there were solid performances in 1-on-1s — Wallace and Layden Robinson — and the running game enjoyed success early in practice. However, the second half of practice was marred by stuffed runs and pressures on Maye and Brissett. It was ugly.
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That said, the Patriots seemingly are finding consistency with their O-line combinations, so the group is trending in the right direction overall.
Assorted Patriots’ Notes and Highlights From Day 6 of Camp
- Former Patriots Devin McCourty, Nate Ebner, and Marcus Cannon all attended practice.
- Robert Kraft also watched part of practice.
- The crowd was light and there wasn’t much buzz on an especially hot and muggy day in Foxboro.
- Offensive players and coaches ran a punishment lap after an extended period of sloppiness. The offense ran a lap on Monday after multiple pre-snap penalties.
- Defensive back Dell Pettus celebrated after committing an obvious defensive pass interference on tight end Mitchell Wilcox.
- Maye finished a rough team period with a completion to Kayshon Boutte, prompting an “attaboy” from Brissett.
- Takeaways from receiver 1-on-1s:
— Drake Maye went 9-for-16.
— Polk had a nice catch over Wilson on a pass from Brissett.
— Rookie Marcellas Dial smothered Smith-Schuster.
— Reagor made a great catch on a deep pass from Zappe.
— Austin Hooper ran a nice route to separate from Kyle Dugger.
— Tyquan Thornton torched Wilson.
— David Wallis had a bad drop.
— Javon Baker nearly made a great diving catch but Zappe overthrew him.
- Here are your Bryce Baringer punt hangtimes, courtesy of 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Alex Barth:
Bryce Baringer hang times. Keep in mind the ball was around the 50 so he didn’t have the full field to work with. Still did a good job spotting the ball inside the 20. Only two were touchbacks
4.20 seconds
4.24
4.34*
3.97
3.64
4.50*
4.17— Alex Barth (@RealAlexBarth) July 30, 2024
- These were the top offensive line combinations, from left to right:
First group: Caedan Wallace, Sidy Sow, Nick Leverett, Mike Onwenu, Chuks Okorafor
Second group: Calvin Anderson, Michael Jordan, Nick Leverett, Atonio Mafi/Layden Robinson, Vederian Lowe - Leverett filled in for Andrews for the second straight practice. Otherwise, the Patriots ran with the same line combinations for the fourth consecutive practice, a potential sign that things are stabilizing on the offensive line.
- Wallace played well during 1-on-1s but was a rollercoaster during team drills.
- The offense did pushups after Shaun Wade broke up a Maye pass intended for Baker in the end zone.
- After practice, Smith-Schuster said he still can be a top receiver. He’s been disappointing in camp and had another bad drop on Tuesday.
Juju Smith-Schuster says he always had that dog in him
“It’s always been in me”
– #patriots #nfl #newenglandpatriots
Patriots Coverage Powered by @PrizePicks @Gametime pic.twitter.com/llZqvYUPlX
— Patriots on CLNS Media (@PatriotsCLNS) July 30, 2024
- Here are additional highlights from Tuesday’s practice. The Patriots will take Wednesday off before returning to the field Thursday morning.
- Wilson had a solid day, including recovering a fumble and breaking up a pass intended for Baker.
- Chad Ryland and Joey Slye both went 1-for-1 on field goals, with both makes from 40 yards.
Patriots QBs go 4-for-4, Joe Milton celebrates with a backflip pic.twitter.com/seWz16RXME
— Dakota Randall (@DakRandall) July 30, 2024
JuJu Smith-Schuster, K.J. Osborn pic.twitter.com/Sn4dVASPPO
— Dakota Randall (@DakRandall) July 30, 2024
Javon Baker, the touchdown maker. pic.twitter.com/kI8LOzLuaA
— Christopher Price (@cpriceglobe) July 30, 2024
DeMario Douglas with a nice leaping grab on this pass from Jacoby Brissett
– #patriots #nfl #newenglandpatriots
Patriots Coverage Powered by @PrizePicks @Gametime pic.twitter.com/ocNPq8GVIq
— Patriots on CLNS Media (@PatriotsCLNS) July 30, 2024
Drake Maye drops it right in the bucket for Tyquan Thornton
– #patriots #nfl #newenglandpatriots
Patriots Coverage Powered by @PrizePicks @Gametime pic.twitter.com/uWulxixRFg
— Patriots on CLNS Media (@PatriotsCLNS) July 30, 2024
Drake Maye signed autographs down the entire line of fans today. Lots of memories made for the kids in attendance pic.twitter.com/qM4KtUzvYy
— Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels) July 30, 2024