From Jeff Howe
Story of the day
Cam Newton went out on a high note as the team’s best quarterback. He completed 17 of 21 passes in competitive team drills and made quicker reads and more accurate throws than his previous pair of sessions when he was a combined 21 of 38 with an interception.
Newton targeted Kendrick Bourne (3 of 3), Sony Michel (1 of 1), J.J. Taylor (2 of 3), Devin Asiasi (0 of 1), James White (4 of 4), Isaiah Zuber (1 of 1), Tre Nixon (1 of 1), N’Keal Harry (2 of 3), Gunner Olszewski (0 of 1), Jakobi Meyers (1 of 1), Dalton Keene (1 of 1) and Troy Fumagalli (1 of 1).
Newton again went first in every rotation. In the opening seven-on-seven period, he hit Bourne on a hitch, Michel on an out route and Taylor on an out-and-in route before his bid for Asiasi was broken up by Kyle Dugger. Next in 11-on-11s, Newton hit White on a quick swing pass, Zuber on a hitch to the left and Nixon on a slant against a zone. In the following period, he found Harry, had his deep ball for Olszewski broken up by J.C. Jackson and connected with Taylor on an option route, though Dugger would have knocked Taylor’s head off in live action.
Later, Newton made a solid throw to Meyers on a deep in-cut, hit Bourne in a soft zone, White on a screen pass, Keene and Fumagalli on under routes and barely misfired to Taylor, who beat Adrian Phillips deep but the ball grazed off his fingers. In the final two-minute drill, Newton made a nice throw to White on a wheel route past Kyle Van Noy, quickly hit White in a soft spot of a zone, then Bourne on an out route. He was incomplete deep down the sideline to Harry on a forced shot play as they simulated time winding down before a field goal. Newton’s final pass was complete for Harry over the middle.
Overall, Newton’s only incompletions were on longer throws down the field, and one barely missed Taylor. Newton, who completed four checkdowns Monday, didn’t have any issues in that regard in the Wednesday camp finale. Newton also spent the day with the No. 1 offensive line, which helped a great deal, and this practice was more geared toward Newton working with the starters.
Mac Jones was 11 of 20 with an interception, but the numbers were deceiving. He was bitten by drops from Marvin Hall, Zuber and Bourne, and Olszewski would have caught a deep ball if he weren’t blatantly held by D’Angelo Ross. On another incompletion, Josh Uche recorded a quick “sack” and Jones fired one over Michel’s head by the left sideline in an apparent attempt to just get off a pass. And in the final two-minute drill, he took two designed shots – again, this was the coaches simulating a late-game situation where the offense had to force it down the field for a last-second kick – to Zuber, who couldn’t come up with either. Zuber’s drop was also during that sequence on a play that otherwise could have gone for a long touchdown.
Jones did have a couple misses. He was intercepted by Adrian Colbert on his final pass for Kristian Wilkerson. It’s unclear what happened, but Jones threw it directly to Colbert. Jones also had a chance to hit an open Wilkerson for a long gain up the right seam, but he threw it just a bit too far.
Jones’ numbers were poor, but his accuracy was largely on point. He opened the day with a beautiful touchdown pass to Wilkerson in the back of the end zone against double coverage then hit Hall on a similar throw, but Hall dropped it. In the next period, Jones checked to Keene when no one else was open, then felt backside pressure and rolled right to hit Zuber for an extended catch and run, and Jones closed the period with a slant to White against a zone.
A period later, Jones had a ball deflected at the line and caught by Michel. This was the third time in two days Jones bounced a ball at the line, so that’s something he’ll work to improve for training camp. He then hit White on a left out route before missing Olszewski, who would have drawn pass interference against Ross in live action.
In the next period, Jones would have been sacked in live action by yet another jailbreak against the backup offensive line. The play was allowed to go on, and he hit Gaffney. Jones then hit Ross on a terrific downfield ball on an over route. Bourne dropped the following pass – the only time on four minicamp attempts the pair failed to connect – then Jones missed Wilkerson, hit Keene on a drag route and threw over Michel’s head after another sack.
In the two-minute period, Jones hit Taylor on a slant against Ja’Whaun Bentley and made a terrific throw against a tight window to Olszewski before the final four incompletions.
Jones largely worked with the backup offensive line, which created issues with a handful of starting rushers on defense. And while the final stretch was rough, his last four incompletions went to receivers who might not make the team. Context matters in these practice settings.
That said, Jones threw a bad interception to close minicamp and will have to sit on that throw for the next six weeks. It was also his third pick in two days – all of them coming in the final periods of practice, including his last throw each day. There were six open practices during the offseason workout program, and the other three quarterbacks each only had one interception.
Jones’ accuracy continuously stood out in recent weeks, but he won’t beat out Newton in camp if the interceptions become a pattern.
Jarrett Stidham was third in the rotation in team drills and completed 10 of 14 passes with an interception.
Brian Hoyer, who has essentially become the scout team quarterback, was 2 of 3 in his lone period of work.
Remaining notes
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N’Keal Harry hurt his calf at the end of Tuesday’s practice but was a full participant Wednesday and had another decent day with two catches from Newton. He looks leaner and maybe a little quicker.
• Tre Nixon caught a slant pass from Stidham and really exploded after the catch. He’s come as advertised with noticeable speed.
• Justin Bethel had an interception and a pass breakup. Kyle Dugger and J.C. Jackson each had a pass breakup.
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Hunter Henry was consistently very good in the first two practices of minicamp but oddly wasn’t targeted Wednesday by any of the quarterbacks.
• Ronnie Perkins looks the part. If he plays like he practices, he’ll get plenty of opportunities in game action.
• It seemed like Joejuan Williams and Myles Bryant had a slight edge over Michael Jackson on Wednesday in the cornerback rotation.
• Steve Belichick again wore the headset on defense. Not sure if the Patriots will name a defensive coordinator this season, but the younger Belichick has been calling the plays in minicamp. Jerod Mayo has been running periods for the scout team defense and has maintained a very vocal presence on the field.
• In terms of execution, Newton and White didn’t have much on-field chemistry last season, but Newton was 7 of 7 when targeting White in minicamp.
• During a punt period, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had a meeting with the four quarterbacks.
• Stidham made a terrific throw to Ross on an over route. Ross had two long gains on that type of play.
• Jackson got beat for three completions – a hitch from Newton to Zuber, a deep in-cut from Newton to Meyers and a slant from Stidham to Bourne.
• Kicker Quinn Nordin again showed off his booming leg. When the kickers rotated from about 40 yards, Nordin blasted a ball way up into the screen about 10 yards behind the goal posts. And going toward the other direction from 42 yards, Nordin smoked a ball onto the roof of a one-story building about 15 yards behind the field. Nordin’s kicking strength is exceptional, though Nick Folk ($1.225 million guaranteed) has been paid to win the job. It’d be a surprise if there were any other outcome.
• Belichick saluted Ernie Adams’ final practice with the Patriots by huddling the team together at the end of the workout. The entire group loudly cheered for Adams several times. Adams announced his retirement following the draft.
Next up
The Patriots’ offseason workout program is over. They report to training camp July 27, and the first practice is expected to be July 31. Fans will be permitted to attend training camp.
Newton went out on a high note as the Patriots' best quarterback. And while Jones’ final stretch was rough, context matters in minicamp.
theathletic.com
Expected inconsistencies from the 2 young QBs and steady progress from Cam in camp.
Lots to work on before reporting to camp July 27.