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Some Patriots news and notes coming off of Tuesday’s practice:
Tuesday ended up being a wet, mistake-ridden practice for the New England Patriots ahead of Thursday night’s preseason opener against the Panthers, but there were a couple of notable non-participants that raised some eyebrows.
Both Kendrick Bourne and Matthew Judon didn’t take part in the session, with neither player donning pads for the practice. Bourne, who remains on PUP and hasn’t practiced this preseason, is normally among players out there stretching with teammates while ultimately being a spectator.
However, on Tuesday, Bourne wasn’t out there to begin practice, which certainly caught everyone’s attention.
Bourne is reportedly part of the compensation package the Patriots may be pondering as they continue talking to the 49ers about a deal for Brandon Aiyuk. According to reports, the Patriots and Browns have each agreed to a framework on a trade for the wideout, with the only question now being whether or either of those teams can get him to agree on a new deal.
It’s unknown to this point what the terms are or what type of offer the team has made to him at this point. The Pittsburgh Steelers had been another team rumored to be involved, but Adam Schefter said on The Pat McAfee Show Tuesday that the Steelers are “out” of the running.
Another thing that stood out was the fact that after telling reporters that he expected business as usual, Matthew Judon left the field partway through practice and, when he returned, didn’t participate.
That goes against what Judon said in his earlier press conference Tuesday morning.
“Look, Judon is doing what he has to do. He’s out here every day. He’s in pads. He’ll be in pads today as well,” said Mayo. “He’s doing everything in the meeting rooms. It was a hiccup, and I feel like we’re on the same page and we’re moving forward.”
It’s unknown to this point whether Judon could be part of a potential trade package, and Mayo declined to speak about the deal, aside from telling reporters that he had a conversation with Bourne about the rumors and was looking to be as transparent with his player as he could as the discussion continues.
But either way, what happened with both guys makes it hard to wonder if they’re part of the compensation to try and bring Aiyuk to New England. As Schefter said yesterday, “it takes two sides” for this to get done, and it remains to be seen if the Patriots can lure Aiyuk to Foxboro as the talks continue.
Some additional thoughts on Tuesday’s practice:
1) Key players get banged up: As the team practice in wet, rainy weather, Mayo joked that, “I think it’ll be good for the players to come out here and continue to work on their fundamentals. Now that the grass is slick, obviously, you’ll probably see some people on the ground, and there’ll be great teaching moments.” However, it’s doubtful he expected any injuries.
A couple of key players appeared to get banged up on Tuesday, with Ja’Whaun Bentley suffering an apparent left arm injury, while rookie Caedan Wallace also got banged up with an arm injury of his own. The Patriots were already without Chukwuma Okorafor, who was present but didn’t participate. Wallace started the day on the left side and did later return after he got dinged, but the club is currently thin as it is at that position and doesn’t exactly have much margin for error.
2) Another solid day for Brissett: For a day that was relatively uneventful for the offense, Jacoby Brissett remained as consistent as he’s been all camp. Mayo said Tuesday morning that Brissett will likely get the starting nod Thursday night, and based on the chants on the field Tuesday, will likely hear about it from the fans. Fans at Gillette chanted “Start Drake Maye!” following an errant throw by the veteran, which hopefully isn’t a sign of things to come this season. Brissett did have a terrific throw at one point, hitting Jalen Reagor in the back corner of the end zone, with Reagor making a terrific grab.
3) Maye improves, but still has a ways to go: Speaking of Maye, the rookie had another tough go of things on Tuesday. Granted, he didn’t get much help on a couple of plays where his guys had some clear drops, but he struggled down the stretch when the team went into a 1-minute offense near the end of practice, with the rookie going 0-for-4 at one point. That’s been an area that’s been difficult for him, and it’s something feels like he’ll still need to work on. However, he also had a nice throw at one point on a pass to Kayshon Boutte, getting the ball in there in between Alex Austin, who was in coverage.
Mayo said on Tuesday that Maye will see time on the field Thursday night. “Drake will play,” said Mayo. “Drake will play, and when he gets in the game, we’ll talk about [what the plan for him will be], but he will play in the game.”
4) Baker continues to have a good camp: The rookie had another solid outing on Tuersday, hauling in several nice throws, including an unbelievable grab against Christian Gonzalez where he had to go up and get the ball over the second-year defensive back. That brought out a celebration from the offense, and was arguably one of the best plays of practice.
5) Zappe continues to battle: Bailey Zappe continues to try and make a case for himself, but his teammates certainly aren’t making it easy. Tristin Hill strip-sacked him at one point, which given that quarterbacks are wearing a no-contact jersey certainly made that one a little interesting. He and rookie Joe Milton continue to exchange reps, but Zappe didn’t do much on Tuesday to help his cause.
Mayo said Tuesday all four quarterbacks are expected to play, and it should be interesting to see just how many snaps Zappe gets Thursday night.
6) Osborn continues to gain momentum: K.J. Osborn put together another good performance on Tuesday, hauling in several nice passes, including a terrific one late from Jacoby Brissett that he caught down the middle of the field but came up just short of the goal line. He continues to have a solid camp, and if he keeps it up, should be in the mix depending on how these next couple of weeks unfold.
Tyquan Thornton also appeared to be nicked up, as he was spotted with trainers at the start of practice, but did take part in drills. … Josh Uche appears to be dealing with something as well, as he spent time down on the lower field. … Sidy Sow sat out 11-on-11s, which is where he’s been consistently as he’s settled into the left guard spot. Instead, the team gave Michael Jordan some reps. … Both Maye and Brissett each had some issues in the rain, with Brissett not being able to come up with a snap from David Andrews, while Maye lost the handle on a handoff to Kevin Harris. … Maye had an interception during his first one-minute drill, with Maye putting up a contested ball that Baker couldn’t quite come down with. Instead, the ball ended up in the hands of fellow-rookie Marcellas Dial, ending the drive in a turnover. … Dell Pettus continues to make plays, including one late against Mitchell Wilcox on a target from Maye where he broke up the pass. The undrafted free agent appears poised to make a case for himself if he can keep it up. … Another tough day for JuJu Smith-Schuster, who ended up with a couple of drops. The veteran is already in tough shape and the addition of Aiyuk would almost certainly knock him out of contention for a roster spot.
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Anyone wanting Maye to start is simply naiive. My opinion. If you’re a fan of the pats you want Maye to be a top 5 or top 10 QB in this league for 12-15 years. If so, you don’t start him out of impatience and inject risk of that long term goal.