10 takeaways from Day 6 of Patriots training camp
The latest on Trent Brown's status, Mack Wilson's big day, Matthew Slater's HBCU shoutout, and more.
The Patriots scaled back the contact at practice on Day 6 of training camp in Foxborough.
After the first day of padded practice on Monday left several players banged up and resulted in Bill Belichick calling a mid-practice huddle, New England practiced in shells on Tuesday.
Mac Jones enjoyed a good performance for the second day in a row, and the Patriots got a welcome return from Cole Strange.
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Here are ten takeaways from the action.
Back-to-back strong performances for Mac Jones
Training camp got off to a rough start for Mac Jones. His first pass was an interception, and his performance wasn’t great during the first few days when the Patriots practiced only red-zone passing.
Now that the field has opened up, Jones is on a roll. He went 10-for-14 on Tuesday, following up an 8-for-10 performance on Monday. His connections with Hunter Henry and DeVante Parker are showing as he continues to target them.
Parker had a leaping catch over Christian Gonzalez and Henry hauled in a touchdown.
Rhamondre Stevenson returns to scrimmages
Rhamondre Stevenson caught a pair of touchdown passes from Jones after spending much of Monday’s scrimmage time on the lower conditioning field.
Stevenson has gone back and forth between full participation and limited participation during training camp so far. But, he looked like he was moving smoothly on both catches.
Cole Strange in attendance wearing a knee sleeve
Cole Strange suffered a knee injury on Monday that Christopher Price of The Boston Globe reported isn’t serious.
Strange was back at practice on Tuesday sporting a knee sleeve. He missed the scrimmages, which means the Patriots were without their two starting offensive guards as Michael Onwenu remains on the physically unable-to-perform list.
Rookie Antonio Mafi got reps with the starters in Strange’s place.
Matthew Slater shouts out Jackson State
The Patriots selected the only player (Jackson State cornerback Isaiah Bolden) in this year’s NFL Draft who attended a historically black college or university.
Jackson State, an HBCU football powerhouse, produced several Pro Football Hall-of-Famers including legendary running back Walter Payton and Slater’s father offensive tackle Jackie Slater.
“First of all, shout out JSU Tigers,” Slater said. “I’m a tiger baby. Obviously, both of my parents went there.”
Mack Wilson makes an impact
Mack Wilson had a pair of pass breakups as he spent some time running with the first-team defense on Tuesday.
“Mack is athletic. It’s crazy, having a guy that is able to run like that, able to jump like that, just make plays on the ball, have soft hands,” defensive back Adrian Phillips said. “It’s just great to see. When we traded for him last year or two years ago, that’s what we were expecting. He’s getting into a groove with the defense, understanding the scheme, and he’s able to go out there a lot more and make checks and make plays.”
Trent Brown still limited
Trent Brown was also a limited participant on Tuesday. During scrimmages, he stood on the sidelines with his helmet off.
Belichick said on Monday that Brown is in good shape and lighter than he was last year, but the Patriots appear to be moving carefully with their left tackle.
Belichick said he talks to Mac Jones every day
Both Mac Jones and Bill Belichick have attempted to clear up speculation about their relationship during training camp. Both have said the relationship has improved after a rocky 2022.
When asked about it on Tuesday, Belichick said that he has a good relationship with every player on the team and that he talks to Jones every day.
Josh Bledsoe gets an interception
Patriots safety Joshuah Bledsoe, who missed all but three games during an injury-riddled 2022 season made his first interception of training camp on Tuesday.
He caught a pass from Trace McSorley at the goal line and ran with it, earning a sizeable chunk of return yardage.
Jahlani Tavai’s pick for a Boston lobster roll
Linebacker Jahlani Tavai is enjoying the opportunity to play with his younger brother Justus, a defensive lineman who the Patriots recently signed.
He said he plans to take his brother out for a lobster roll in the North End this weekend as Justus acclimates to New England.
“Pauli’s, their lobster rolls, I’m about to go take him this weekend,” Tavai said. “That’ll be the spot to go.”
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