Foxboro, Mass. — Real football has finally arrived. After a week of working out in shirts and shells, the pads came on Monday for the start of the second week of Patriots training camp. Naturally, these more physical workouts give us a better look at how the 2022 squad is coming along because they more closely resemble what players will face in the preseason and eventually during the regular season. .
Below, you’ll find all the highlights from Day 5 of Pats camp.
First fully padded practice
As we wrote above, physicality increased with the arrival of the pads on Monday. This was evident during the 1-on-1 pass rushing drills, with Trent Brown having one of the standout plays for the offensive line as he was able to hold tight against Josh Oche, giving him a single rep. But put it on the ground. As for the defensive side, second-year lineman Christian Barmore made his presence felt against 2022 first-round pick Cole Strange as he also had him running back during the session.
Second-round pick Tyquan Thornton had a few moments that emerged Monday that showed the rookie is coming along. While the wide receiver was going against the defensive back during 1-on-1 drills, Thornton was able to take a deep shot from Mack Jones in the end zone with cornerback JoJuan Williams draped over him. Thornton was initially pushed out of his way but managed to burst down the sideline to make a leaping catch before falling out of bounds.
It’s worth noting that Thornton was practicing with the first-team offense and got a decent amount of reps throughout the session.
One of the better back-and-forth battles on Monday took place between corner Malcolm Butler and wideout DeVante Parker. The two were immediately competitive during 1-on-1 drills. Parker was able to rise above Butler to make a 40-yard catch from Bailey Zappé. Then, during 11-on-11s, McJones moved up in the pocket to avoid pressure and opened up a 50-yard pass to Parker, who beat Butler and scored a touchdown.
While the Jones-Parker combo may have been better than Butler in this game, the veteran corner responded well. Later in the team’s drills, he had a pass breakup in the end zone against Parker and added another tally while only covering rookie Tyquan Thornton.
How did the QBs perform?
It was another up-and-down day for the quarterbacks. As has been the case throughout camp so far, both McJones and Bailey Zappé have been effective during 7-on-7-s, but have struggled to maintain that consistency when things escalate during 11-on-11s. . On the first play of the day in 11-on-11s, Isaiah Wynn got off to a false start. The very next snap after that penalty, Jones dropped back to pass and target Tyquan Thornton, but the ball was picked off by corner Terrence Mitchell.
It was a more run-heavy day for the offense, but Jones went 5-of-8 in 11 seconds and 5-of-6 in 7-on-7 seconds. Meanwhile, Zappe was 5-of-9 in 11-on-11 shooting and 5-of-6 in 7-on-7 shooting. Zappe’s highlight of the day came in the form of a touchdown to tight end Devin Asiasi as he scrambled in the pocket during 7-7-s.
Just before practice started, a report from ESPN It was revealed that punter Jack Bailey had signed a four-year deal with the Patriots through the 2025 season. The $13.5 million contract includes $6.5 million guaranteed, making Bailey one of the NFL’s highest-paid punters.
“I’m very happy, fortunate to have a few more years here,” Bailey said after practice.
“I was just on the phone with my agent and it was like, ‘Okay, that’s it. We’re good with it,'” he continued when asked what it was like when he found out the deal was done. “It wasn’t like a crazy big moment, but it’s a huge milestone in my life, and just thankful that God put me at this point.
Bailey was entering the final year of his rookie contract.
“Whenever there’s an uncertainty, you know, it’s in the back of your head, but at our position, you just have to be able to make distributions and go out on the field and execute. Joe is bothering you, you won’t be able to play for long.”
The 25-year-old had a salary cap charge of $4.05 million for the year, but this new contract Allegedly Reduces his cap hit by about $1.85 million.
Attendance
Monday’s first bowl practice saw the return of a handful of players. The secondary, in particular, got a boost with cornerbacks Myles Bryant and Jonathan Jones as well as safety Gabriel Peppers returning from the PUP/NFI list.
Meanwhile, quarterback Brian Hoyer (unknown) missed his third straight practice, and pass rusher Dietrich Wise also did not participate. Running back James White (PUP list) was also ruled out, along with guards Chasen Hines (NFI list) and Andrew Stober (NFI list).
