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The New England Patriots were back on the training grounds after taking a few days off after their 22-13 victory over the Washington soccer team in Game 1 of the preseason. It was a light day, however, as the team prepared to take off to Philadelphia later Sunday afternoon for two joint practices with the Eagles before the second preseason game Thursday night.
While the team didn’t participate in a lot of high-intensity team drills, the Patriots had a lot of good news and bad news in Sunday’s practice.
Presence
Absent: CB Stephon Gilmore (PUP), DT Bryon Cowart (PUP), QB Jarrett Stidham (PUP), TE Dalton Keene (PUP), LB Cameron McGrone (NFI), S Joshuah Bledsoe (NFI), LB Raekkon McMillan (IR), K Nick Folk, DL Lawrence Guy, LB Anfernee Jennings, CB Myles Bryant, K Nick Folk, WR Tre Nixon
Returnees: LB Chase Winovich, TE Hunter Henry, C David Andrews, WR Nelson Agholor
LB Rashod Berry, TE David Wells and WR Marvin Hall were also not present at the session. All three were released by the Patriots today with the 90-to-85 roster reduction deadline coming Tuesday.
Injuries
TE Jonnu Smith: While the Patriots recovered a tight end on Sunday, they lost another in the process. Smith apparently rolled his ankle during a workout and walked off the pitch barefoot with the coaches. We think that’s okay, but it’s likely Smith will miss the rest of the week as the team prepares to have a healthy squad heading into the regular season.
Take away food
They are baaaaack! In practice last Sunday the Patriots lost a number of important players with Hunter Henry (shoulder), David Andrews (hand) and Joe Cardona (hand) all leaving practice and missing the week. last. However, the Patriots have recovered Henry and Andrews as well as wide receiver Nelson Agholor for this morning’s practice.
Henry is still treating his shoulder injury as he participated in the walkthrough, but no exercises after that, and Andrews was in full swing after taking paternity leave and resting his injured hand. Agholor has returned from his unknown injury after being absent since training last Saturday. The Patriots also removed linebacker and main special team Chase Winovich from the PUP roster this morning. We didn’t know what Winovich was up to, but it was the first time we saw him since OTAs in the spring.
Next men on the tight end: With Hunter Henry limited, Jonnu Smith injured and David Wells released, the Patriots had just three tight ends standing at the end of the session. Devin Asiasi and Matt LaCosse were the first men, with Troy Fumagalli as the third option behind them.
Quarterbacks: It was an all-quarter lightweight throw day with an 11-11 job that saw Cam Newton, Mac Jones and Brian Hoyer all secure reps. Newton worked primarily with one and led each exercise while Jones worked primarily with both. With a big week ahead in Philadelphia featuring two joint practices and a Thursday night game, this is where the battle for the starting position will begin to escalate for Newton and Jones.
What to look for in Philadelphia: Bill Belichick has publicly stated that joint practices generally mean more to him than preseason games when judging. It’s a chance to get everyone to train when the intensity and physique replicate the regular season.
As for Newton and Jones, this week’s session will be an opportunity for them to have an extended gaze against an opposing defense as they both continue to make their case for the starting position. As for N’Keal Harry, he had a good start to camp this year, but struggled to set it up on match day. As Kristian Wilkerson continues to make a name for himself both on special teams and as a wide receiver, he and Harry will need a big week to prove to the staff why they deserve what is probably last place on list at this post.
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