The
New England Patriots completed their sixth practice of organized team activities Friday. It was their second practice in front of the media. Here are
The Athletic’s observations:
Attendance
Did not fully participate (24): K Nick Folk, OLB Matt Judon, WR N’Keal Harry, S Adrian Phillips, CB Stephon Gilmore, RB Brandon Bolden, RB Sony Michel, CB J.C. Jackson, RB James White, S Devin McCourty, RB Damien Harris, TE Dalton Keene, RB Rhamondre Stevenson,
LB Dont’a Hightower, LB Cam McGrone, LB Anfernee Jennings, LB Terez Hall, S Josh Bledsoe, LT Justin Herron, LT Isaiah Wynn, RT Trent Brown, TE Jonnu Smith, WR Devin Smith, DT Byron Cowart
Returned (after being absent May 27): LB Brandon King, CB Myles Bryant, LB Harvey Langi, OLB Chase Winovich, LB LaRoy Reynolds, DT Christian Barmore, LB Kyle Van Noy, WR Tre Nixon, DT Lawrence Guy
New absentees (after participating May 27):
N’Keal Harry, Devin Smith
Notes: Damien Harris, Ronnie Perkins, Anfernee Jennings, Cam McGrone, Dalton Keene and Josh Bledsoe worked out to the side due to injuries. Harris again had a compression sleeve on his left leg. McGrone tore his ACL in November. Bledsoe broke his right wrist in January at the Senior Bowl.
Story of the day
Cam Newton injured his right hand midway through practice and didn’t finish the workout. It’s possible Newton hit his hand on a helmet during the prior 11-on-11 period or on a blocking pad during a positional period, which was his final one of the day. During that 11-on-11 period, the pass rush was consistently in the backfield, although Newton didn’t show any visible signs of discomfort following any of his four reps. But during the positional period, coaches threw blocking pads at the quarterbacks to simulate pressure.
Newton took one rep in that period then went to meet with the medical staff on the sideline, and he was in visible discomfort at one point when they examined his hand. Newton was repeatedly checking for swelling near the knuckle at the base of his index finger – several times comparing it to the same spot on his left hand – either on the knuckle itself or the bridge of the hand between the finger and thumb. He then returned to the field behind the drill and gripped a ball for about a minute before heading back to the medical staff on the sideline. He buckled over in pain at one point during that examination.
At that point, it became clear Newton was done for the day. He again returned to the field and took a knee behind the drill. Patriots owner Robert Kraft walked onto the practice field around that time, noticed Newton wasn’t participating and walked over to speak with the starting quarterback. Newton gave Kraft a fist bump with his left hand. Newton watched the rest of the practice.
The Patriots have the weekend off before returning to practice Monday, and their next workout in front of the media will be Thursday. We’ll see what happens with Newton in the coming days.
Quarterback evaluation
• Newton completed 2 of 3 passes during the only team period. He completed his first pass to
J.J. Taylor on a checkdown to the left side then hit
Isaiah Zuber on a left out route. His final pass was well behind
Nelson Agholor up the right sideline, but it was unclear if it was a poor throw or a miscommunication.
•
Mac Jones was second in line, which was also the case May 27, and he didn’t get any help from the offensive line, particularly from the backup tackles (more on that later). Myles Bryant blitzed off the front side and tipped Jones’ first pass, which fell incomplete, and Jones completed his next pass to Taylor on a checkdown. Christian Barmore blew past Marcus Martin for a “sack” on the final rep.
• Jones took over as the starter during the next 7-on-7 team period, and he completed three consecutive checkdowns to Taylor, Jakob Johnson and Tyler Gaffney after he couldn’t find anyone open down the field. On Jones’ next turn in the rotation, he quickly hit a wide-open Taylor on the right side before an ugly incompletion on his second throw, which was either poorly thrown and too deep for
Jakobi Meyers’ corner route or a miscommunication with Kristian Wilkerson, who broke the wrong way. Jones’ final throw of the period was a completion to
Hunter Henry on an option route against a zone linebacker.
• Jones then went third in the rotation for his final period of 11-on-11s, again quickly hitting Taylor underneath before completing another ball to Troy Fumagalli. Jones’ final pass was nearly intercepted by
Kyle Van Noy due to a miscommunication with Henry. Jones didn’t take any reps in the last team period.
• Overall, Jones was 8 of 11, and he attempted passes to Taylor (4 of 4), Henry (1 of 2), Fumagalli (1 of 1), Johnson (1 of 1), Gaffney (1 of 1), Zuber (0 of 1) and Meyers (0 of 1). The checkdowns were noticeable. About half were the result of a quick read and taking advantage of a vulnerability in the coverage. For the rest, it’s hard to know if Jones could have or should have made a more aggressive throw down the field or if he simply made the safe play underneath.
• Jones also had a compression sleeve on his lower right leg, either due to an ankle or calf injury. Because the sleeve didn’t extend all the way up his calf, the guess here is an ankle issue. He also noticeably limped between periods and might not have had as much burst off his back foot during live reps.
•
Jarrett Stidham opened the day as the third quarterback in the rotation but was the No. 1 QB over the final two periods. He was clearly the best of the group during this practice, completing 13 of 14 passes in team drills, with Johnson’s drop sabotaging his perfect day. Stidham’s confidence was evident by his quick reads and releases, as well as his ability to handle the pass rush. He made the two best throws of the practice on deep dig routes to Zuber and Meyers.
• Stidham attempted passes to Gaffney (4 of 4), Taylor (3 of 3),
Kendrick Bourne (2 of 2), Zuber (1 of 1), Henry (1 of 1), Meyers (1 of 1),
Gunner Olszewski (1 of 1) and Johnson (0 of 1).
• For what it’s worth, Stidham was 6 of 6 when targeting wide receivers and tight ends, while Jones was 2 of 5.
• The unknown element here: As Newton was down, did Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels predetermine Jones and Stidham would split the No. 1 reps, or did Stidham take over late due to performance? The Jones-Stidham dynamic will be closely monitored over the final two weeks of offseason workouts, regardless of Newton’s status.
•
Brian Hoyer was 7 of 13 during the practice, though he was burned by drops from Johnson and Fumagalli. Hoyer didn’t participate in the opening team period, then went third in the next two periods without Newton and second in the final two periods.