FOXBORO — A head coach at the bottom of a pile.
Two rising star quarterbacks.
Clutch defense in the final seconds.
The Patriots’ joint practice with the Commanders featured a little bit of everything Wednesday. Both teams went head-to-head over two hours on the practice fields outside Gillette Stadium, where in the end Drake Maye, Mike Vrabel and Co. seemed to gain an upper hand despite a late interception
Backup cornerback Alex Austin kncoked away Jayden Daniels’ final throw, an end-zone toss on fourth-down that ended a period started at the 25-yard line with 45 seconds left. Before then, the Pats defense tallied several sacks, and their quarterbacks carved up a lackluster Commanders secondary.
For all of the Herald’s offensive takeaways Wednesday, click here.
For all of the defensive takeaways and an attendance report, follow along.
Attendance
Absent: WR Kendrick Bourne, OL Caedan Wallace
Non-participant: CB Christian Gonzalez, OLB K’Lavon Chaisson, LB Jahlani Tavai
Limited: WR Stefon Diggs, CB Carlton Davis, OT Morgan Moses
Notes: Diggs arrived late, missing opening individual drills and stretching. He participated in later team periods, both 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s. Moses and Davis sat out drills after initial stretching. Gonzalez, Chaisson and Tavai all walked the field in street clothes.
Bourne continues to miss time with a left foot injury. He is not expected to practice this week. Like Bourne, Wallace has also been out since last Friday’s in-stadium scrimmage.
Patriots joint practice offensive takeaways: QBs shine vs. Commanders
Studs
CB Kobee Minor
Mr. Irrelevant, the last pick in April's draft, enjoyed his best practice of the summer with a pair of pass breakups, including one late in an abbreviated 2-minute drill for the Commanders offense.
DB Marcus Jones
The diminutive cornerback held his own outside and at his normal spoit at nickeback. Jones also tallied a sack.
Duds
S Kyle Dugger
The Patriots' longtime strong safety allowed several catches in team periods, consistently a step behind intended receivers. Dugger, again, repped with both the first and second-team defenses.
DL Keion White
White was a relative non-factor in team periods and had a rough showing in 1-on-1 pass rush.
Defensive notes
Foxboro, MA - Aug. 6 - Carlton Davis III (7) of the New England Patriots during Training Camp at Gillette Stadium. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
Foxboro, MA - Aug. 6 - Carlton Davis III (7) of the New England Patriots during Training Camp at Gillette Stadium. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
Top personnel during team periods: defensive linemen Milton Williams, Christian Barmore, Keion White, Jeremiah Pharms Jr., Khyris Tonga and Joshua Farmer; linebackers Robert Spillane, Christian Elliss, Jack Gibbens, Marte Mapu, Harold Landry, Anfernee Jennings and Truman Jones; defensive backs Alex Austin, Marcus Jones, DJ James, Kobee Minor, Miles Battle, Jabrill Peppers, Kyle Dugger, Jaylinn Hawkins, Craig Woodson and Marcus Epps.
Interceptions: N/A
Pass breakups: CB Kobee Minor 2, LB Robert Spillane, CB Alex Austin, S Craig Woodson
Would-be sacks: OLB Harold Landry, OLB Anfernee Jennings, OLB Elijah Ponder, CB Marcus Jones
Defensive linemen
Christian Barmore set the bar for this group, tallying multiple pressures in team periods and big wins during 1-on-1 pass rush.
Khyris Tonga, the team's No. 3 defensive tackle and a training camp star, went unbeaten during individual pass rush. Tonga almost lifted one Commanders O-lineman off the ground in that drill and rotated in with the starters.
Fellow defensive tackle Milton Williams also put a Commanders lineman on skates during individual pass rush drills, but was less disruptive in 11-on-11s.
Not a great day for Keion White, who lost the edge on a few run plays and badly in 1-on-1 pass rush.
Backup defensive tackles Joshua Farmer and Jeremiah Pharms Jr. each had moments in team drills: Farmer with a run stuff and instant recognition of a screen pass, while Pharms Jr. had one pressure.
Second-year defensive tackle Isaiah Iton enjoyed an up-and-down day, jumping offsides during individual and team drills, notching a run stuff and monster win in 1-on-1 pass rush.
Linebackers
Let's start on the edge, where the Patriots got out-leveraged time and again by the Commanders' starting offense on perimeter runs. White and Harold Landry both let running backs loose for long gains.
Backup outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings, an elite run defender, continued to take snaps in place of K'Lavon Chaisson, who missed his third straight practice. Jennings earned his would-be sack by not giving up on an extended play.
Inside linebacker Robert Spillane made one of the few notable plays, jumping into a passing lane to bat Jayden Daniels throw into the air midway through an early team drill.
Defensive backs
How about these young corners? Alex Austin ended Jayden Daniels' last period, knocking away an end-zone pass on fourth-and-six to force a would-be turnover on downs.
Austin took reps at outside cornerback with the top defense and nickelback with the second-team unit, as Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis sat out another day of team drills.
Marcus Jones and second-year corner DJ James formed the originally starting tandem outside in 11-on-11s. Jones, the team's starting nickelback, kicked inside when the defense fielded three cornerbacks.
The Patriots' safeties all struggled in 1-on-1 coverage, something the new coaching staff will ask more of them than previous regimes. No one had a tougher day in this department than Kyle Dugger, who repped with the top two defenses.
Dugger, Jabrill Peppers -- who periodically manned the slot -- and Jaylin Hawkins started team periods, with rookie Craig Woodson rotating in. Hawkins allowed multiple catches.
Hawkins and Marcus Jones formed a nice double-team on an incompletion in the final period against Washington's starting offense; displaying the type of chemistry the Patriots will need if this defense is to reach its full potential.
Special teams
Rookie kicker Andy Borregales gained ground in the kicking competition, going 4-of-4 on field goal attempts beteen 33 and 52 yards. Parker Romo, meanwhile, missed from 30 yards and hit his other three attempts.
Before Wednesday, Neither kicker had missed a field goal attempt in almost two weeks. Romo remains just ahead of Borregales in
TreVeyon Henderson took the first kickoff return rep. He's been in the mix throughout camp with other running backs and receivers.
Backup inside linebackers Jack Gibbens and Marte Mapu started on punt team. Gibbens projects to be a roster lock, while Mapu faces an uphill climb to the 53-man roster.
The Patriots' backup kickoff teams had trouble corralling Commanders returners. Something to watch for Friday night.
Extra points
Several ex-Patriots players were in attendance Wednesday: Devin and Jason McCourty, Danny Amendola and Patrick Chung among them.
Jon Bon Jovi walked into practice with team owner Robert Kraft. Bon Jovi has been a longtime and frequent visitor to Patriots training camp practices.
Celtics star Jayson Tatum was in attendance and without his walking boot.
The Patriots will hold a walk-through on Thursday. They play their first preseason game of the summer Friday at 7:30 p.m. against the Commanders. Tom Brady's statue will be unveiled with the GOAT in attendance at 6 p.m. on Friday.
The Patriots will hold their next training camp practice Sunday at 10:15 a.m. It will be the last practice open to the public. Fan admission and parking are free.
Originally Published: August 6, 2025 at 5:58 PM EDT