Some Patriots news and notes on this Thursday:
The joint practice held on Wednesday set up what likely felt like a game-like atmosphere for the players, with almost nine thousand fans on hand to take in the session.
They certainly got more than they likely bargained for. But the biggest takeaway was the fact the offense seems to have made some good progress through this point of training camp, and appeared ahead of Washington in terms of their performance by the time it was over.
Both quarterbacks had a solid showing, with Drake Maye and Joshua Dobbs each having success at various points against the Commanders’ defense.
Maye looked like he was in-rhythm for the majority of the day, with his one miscue coming on what appeared to be a touchdown pass being batted at the line and picked. Maye admitted after the fact he thought he could have looked him off, but overall, he was pleased with how things went.
“I thought we moved well,” said Maye. “It was good playing against another team, having all our guys out there, and kind of getting in a rhythm, building some plays together, and moved the ball. I thought we did some good things offensively. I wish we would have ended it better. We had the tipped ball down there, but that happens. That’s football, and that’s why you practice those.”
Overall, Maye finished 14-of-21 and made several nice throws. Despite the lone turnover, he mostly looked comfortable against a pretty good Commanders defense.
Meanwhile, Demario Douglas had a solid day, with Washington unable to come up with an answer for him during the majority of the practice. Both Mack Hollins and Efton Chism also had their share of moments, as did Javon Baker, who was among several players who scored touchdowns for New England on Wednesday.
However, Kayshon Boutte made one of the more memorable plays of the day as he hauled in a contested touchdown with a player draped right over him. That one was a tremendous grab, and he continues to prove he’s among New England’s top group of wideouts at this point of the preseason.
There’s no question that Mike Vrabel has been someone who has endeared himself to his players so far this preseason, but what he did on Wednesday likely even took things a little further.
That moment came following a scuffle that broke out between rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson and a Washington defender who was blitzing off the edge. Henderson, as he did so well in college, picked up the blitz and actually took him down to the ground, which apparently didn’t sit well.
As the two got into it, fellow rookie Will Campbell jumped in to help Henderson out, with Vrabel then racing in to break it up before things escalated. However, the New England Patriots head coach actually dove into the pile, with Vrabel then emerging with his face bleeding, having suffered a cut to his cheek.
This was a sitaution he talked about again right before practice, so he likely wasn’t pleased to see it play out.
“We want to practice the same way we practice against our team,” said Vrabel before practice. “That’s by playing physical and aggressive, and not doing stuff that hurts the team. Certainly don’t expect any of that, and if it does, we’ll have to handle it accordingly.”
While he didn’t expect it, he stayed true to his word and handled it, with the former linebacker – who will turn 50 next week – jumping in and likely surprising everyone as soon as they realized he was in the pile with them.
That’s a precedent that certainly set a tone, with Hunter Henry smiling as he talked about it after practice.
“He’s right there with us, man,” said Henry. “I think that player comes out of him a little bit too. But you have to love a coach that loves to compete, has those competitive juices just like us.”
Maye was impressed as well.
“The mentality, I like it,” said Maye. “I think that’s what you want. I almost got in there, but I think maybe another day.”
Vrabel has their respect, and he’s clearly shown that they’re all in it together. It’s certainly a unique situation and one that will probably be talked about years down the road, depending on how things ultimately unfold this season and beyond.
Will Campbell was certainly tested on Wednesday and held up pretty well. He also made an unbelievable block on former Patriots defensive tackle Deatrich Wise, which saw Campbell level him and take him to the ground.
Wise came away from that battle impressed,
“Great guy, really good with using his hands. I would say he did a really good job of effort,” said Wise of Campbell. “He wants to get better and learn at everything he does and has that tenacity. So kudos to him.”
Wise was also asked about Campbell’s arm length, but he dismissed that as being a non-issue.
“I’ve faced tackles who have short arms before, long arms,” said Wise. “It’s not about the size of the tackle, it’s about the heart. So, he has that.”
Overall, Maye had time to work in the pocket, and Campbell looked pretty confident while he was out there. It’s a nice step forward for the rookie, who has made good progress to this point in camp.
Wednesday turned out to be a good day for wideout Mack Hollins, who finished the session with quite a few targets, which included two touchdown receptions.
He made several nice plays and caught passes from both quarterbacks, albeit he also had a couple of drops. But he joined Henry as the top pass catcher in the offense with Maye, and he seems like he’s off to a good start coming off of PUP.
Hollins actually came away with another huge play for the Patriots on Wednesday, hauling in a long tochdown toss from Dobbs, which he managed to pull in with just one arm with a Washington defender right on him.
Overall, for a player who only recently got back into the fray, he did really well in what was certainly a competitive session.
The veteran recently received some praise from Vrabel for his work behind the scenes while he was sidelined.
“Rare for a player to be able to get that much information and not practice,” said Vrabel. “That’s hard. That’s hard. Just even thinking back when I was in those opportunities to be able to do that, and still understand the details and not practicing it. So locked in, ready to go, excited to see him get out there and practice.”
Hopefully, he was pleased with the results from him on Wednesday.
Odds and Ends
Another player who had a good day was Jared Wilson, who again looked solid in what was obviously his first real test outside of going against his own defense. He continues to have a strong preseason. … Garrett Bradbury had some tough moments, which included a sack. Ben Brown also got some work, and center remains a position that appears to still have some questions after Wednesday’s practice. … TreVeyon Henderson had a couple of drops on Wednesday, but did garner some praise from Vrabel before practice for how he’s handled himself so far. “I mean, he seems to be a quick learner, and if there’s something that happens in protection, he rarely makes the same mistake twice,” said Vrabel. “Great teammate. You know what I mean? See him playing with effort when he doesn’t have the ball in his hand. He’s been able to do some things in the run game. Learns quickly, to be able to move him at different positions offensively.” … Marcus Bryant was another player who received some praise from Vrabel. “Marcus has gotten better,” said Vrabel. “He’s trying to compete at left tackle and right tackle, and when somebody goes down, or they’re not available, we just put the next guy in there. And then we evaluate him, and if he earns the opportunity to stay there, he stays there. Marcus has done that, I think he’s gotten better each and every day.” … In the battle of the kickers, it looks like John Parker-Romo is the first guy to blink in that competition. Andres Borregales finished 4-of-4 again on Wednesday, while Parker Romo finally missed a kick and finished 3-of-4. Borregales continues to look more confident, but there are still a couple of weeks to go to see if he can keep it going.
About Ian Logue
Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
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Tags: 2025 Patriots Training Camp Drake Maye Joshua Dobbs Kayshon Boutte Mike Vrabel New England Patriots Patriots news Will Campbell
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