Pats Pulpit
Recapping everything that happened on Day 4 of Patriots training camp.
The New England Patriots were back to work on Saturday for their fourth training camp practice of the week. Following a walkthrough session yesterday, the energy and intensity ramped up throughout the day in what felt like a true training camp practice.
Here is what went down on the fields behind Gillette Stadium.
Attire: Shorts and shells
Duration: ca. 90 minutes (10:15-11:45 a.m. ET)
Conditions: Sunny, temperatures in the 80s
The Patriots’ fourth practice of the summer took place in a picture-perfect Foxborough day. While there were still no pads per the league mandated rules, the intensity was risen throughout the 90 minutes of practice.
Absent: WR Ja’Lynn Polk, WR Mack Hollins (PUP), OT Vederian Lowe (PUP), TE Austin Hooper (PUP), Josh Minkins (NFI)
Limited: CB Carlton Davis
Injured: LB Jahlani Tavai
While the Patriots began practice without Rhamondre Stevenson, Morgan Moses, and Carlton Davis, the running back and offensive tackle eventually took the field to take part in team drills without any visible limitation. Davis, on the other hand, appeared briefly in uniform and just spent time on the exercise bike — likely part of the maintenance for the cornerback after originally having starting the summer on the non-football injury list.
New England did see linebacker Jahlani Tavai, who suffered a calf injury this spring, leave practice early during positional drills. Tavai spent plenty of time with head athletic trainer Jim Whalen before departing.
Airing it out: Running their first 7-on-7 period of the summer and plenty of full team work, Drake Maye had the opportunity to throw the ball downfield more than he had over the first three days of camp. Maye’s accuracy was a bit more inconsistent than it had been in past days — specifically missing on a pair of crossers — but the second-year quarterback connected on big plays downfield to Javon Baker (7s) and DeMario Douglas (11s).
The latter was the play of camp to date, with Maye rolling to his right before hitting Douglas in stride down the right sideline for a touchdown from roughly 50 yards out.
Beyond the highlights, Maye also had some pretty intermediate throws over and in-between defenders to Hunter Henry (crosser) and Kayshon Boutte (dig) — which was layered perfectly over linebacker Robert Spillane.
Pop’s big day: Speaking of DeMario Douglas, the 24-year-old continues to be the team’s best performing receiver throughout the offseason. In addition to his highlight connection with Maye — where Douglas also nicely adjusted his route downfield during the scramble drill — the third-year wideout also caught a downfield crosser and then went through Marcus Jones to haul in an out along the right sideline.
Earlier, Douglas also connected with backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs downfield in 7-on-7 work. He looks headed for a career-year under new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels while his chemistry with Maye continues to grow.
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