Wednesday Patriots Notebook 7/30: Position Battle Heating Up, Two More Injuries Pop Up
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Some Patriots news and notes for this morning:
1) Some good news on Christian Gonzalez yesterday. NFL reporter Jordan Schultz reported on Tuesday that the leg injury suffered by the third-year defensive back that forced him out of practice Monday apparently isn’t severe.
Schultz reports that Gonzalez isn’t expected to miss much time, and the injury also shouldn’t affect his status for the club’s opener against the Raiders on September 7th at Gillette Stadium.
Whether or not he’s back before then remains to be seen. But if not, it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if the team decides to be cautious with their most important player heading into 2025.
2) Meanwhile, the team did lose two offensive linemen yesterday, with both Morgan Moses and Garrett Bradbury leaving the session. That ended up opening up the door for more snaps for both Demontrey Jacobs and rookie Jared Wilson, respectively, who each stepped in for the two veterans.
Teammate Khyiris Tonga spoke on Tuesday on the fact that being on the same team with Bradbury has been a nice change, with the two having previously faced off against each other while Bradbury was in Minnesota, while Tonga was with Chicago.
“I’ve been going up against Bradbury since my second year,” said Tonga. “So it’s always good going against a veteran center who knows what he’s doing, who has all the little savvy moves. It sharpens my game up. So it’s been really good.”
It’s not known what their ailments are, and the statuses on both players will remain something to watch heading into Wednesday’s session.
3) Both Bradbury and Wilson have had a tough time at center so far at camp, at least when it comes to the quarterback and center exchange.
It’s happened multiple times with both players, and appears to be an ongoing issue.
On Tuesday, Vrabel penalized them, pulling Maye and the offense off the field following a bad snap between he and Bradbury during the 11-on-11 period.
This is the time of year where things like this need to be worked out, but the fact it’s happened as often as it has and continues to happen is going to be something that you have to hope gets figured out before they start playing meaningful games.
4) The kicker battle appears to be heating up. One day after John Parker-Romo was in the spotlight and drilled all six of his attempts, Tuesday was apparently rookie Andres’ Borregales’ turn.
Borregales, who has had some tough moments thus far in camp, turned around and nailed all six of his attempts, which is setting up a nice little competition at the position here in the second week of camp.
He talked to reporters Saturday, and talked about his issues both that day and how he’s trying to approach each practice.
“The first one was an extra point,” said Borregales. “Missed that one. Just a bad hit. That’s on me. Second one was a good hit. Wind took it, so I’m not sure if it went in or not. We’ll see. And then that one was around, high 30s? I don’t really remember the exact yardages, and then the other two were down the middle.”
On the two big ones he hit, which were from 47 and 50 yards Saturday, he acknowledged that each attempt requires making adjustments based on the previous attempt.
“Really, it’s just, I guess, adapting,” said Borregales. “If you have a bad hit, be able to kind of recognize what went wrong and apply it on the next kick.”
One other interesting note is the fact that he and long-snapper Julian Ashby had a working relationship ahead of getting drafted.
“We did pre-draft together,” said Borregales. “We were together since January, and then we just ended up happening to be drafted to the same team. So that was awesome.”
In terms of how that helps him, he added, “Tremendously. Because I already know how he snaps and his tendencies and everything. And obviously, that relationship, that chemistry is there.”
One day after making a little noise, Brock Lampe‘s run appears to be over. He’s reportedly been placed on IR, with newly added linebacker R.J. Moten taking both his roster spot and his number. Moten previously played for the UFL’s Michigan Panthers and was present on the field Tuesday. … Javon Baker also hauled in a touchdown throw from back-up quarterback Joshua Dobbs, with Baker going up and over defensive back Marcellus Dial. Baker has also been making a push as of late. … Austin Hooper was back on the field Tuesday, which was a positive sign. He had previously been on PUP, but per the league’s transaction wire, he officially came off of that yesterday. … Kyle Williams, Stefon Diggs, and Kayshon Boutte were all among other receivers who caught touchdown passes on Tuesday. While the session was an up-and-down one for Maye, the one to Boutte allowed them to end practice on a high note. … Jahlani Tavai missed his second-straight session. He’s still coming back from an injury and his status isn’t yet known. Rookie Joshua Farmer was also not out there Tuesday. Carlton Davis was also present but didn’t participate. … Jared Wilson continues taking reps with Cole Strange at left guard and took first-team snaps. Given Strange’s contract status (he’s heading into his final season), it’s tough to say if the team might opt to move on give that opportunity to Wilson, but it seems like he’s being given every chance to win the job. Strange has had some good moments, but seeing Wilson get that work yesterday makes it tough to wonder how that one might play out.
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NBC Boston said Strange is playing very well and likely has the LG spot. They also are touting Jared Wilson as sorta closing the gap on Bradberry where WIlson may start this year at some point, if not in Sept. Lampe, I saw him come off the field after a collision on Monday. He was shaking his hand. People behind me saw the collision and noted it. Possibly he’s got some broken bone issue given he went on IR. To bad. Sounds like he’s done for the year. Interesting looking at the WR group and the player sizes. Diggs is… Read more »
Wilson seems like a better upgrade at center than at left guard. Strange appears to be playing well enough at LG, while there are multiple questions about Bradbury at center. Think the Patriots would be better off dedicating Wilson to center and fixing the snap/exchange problems.