Morse: Notes From Patriots Training Camp Day 3

Day 3 was a 50% Walkthrough. There were no shells and helmets. Many of the players wore bucket hats and sweats.

Gabe Jacas Contract Details

According to Mike Reiss, the Patriots included an Injury Waiver in the contract of Gabe Jacas, in which they can void the contract after 2 years if his left Knee doesn’t respond. This is an extremely rare circumstance in which the player is basically admitting that he wouldn’t pass a physical.

Gabe Jacas did not attend the NFL Combine medical exams due to a hamstring injury during the pre-draft process.

Gabe Jacas was unable to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine on February 26 and Illinois’ pro day on March 12 because of a hamstring injury sustained during the pre-draft process, which prevented him from being medically cleared to practice or undergo the standard combine evaluations, including medical exams (ESPN). Despite this, he was healthy enough to perform at his personal pro day on April 2, where he ran a 4.69-second 40-yard dash with a 1.59-second 10-yard split.

Although Jacas received passing grades from at least two NFL teams on his medicals, concerns were noted, including a labral tear in his shoulder and a stress fracture in his foot, which could require future attention (ESPN). Additionally, he later underwent a knee “clean-up” procedure, though it is unclear whether this occurred before or after any recheck at the combine or during a pre-draft 30 visit with the Patriots.

His absence from the combine and subsequent medical procedures contributed to delays in signing his rookie contract with the New England Patriots, as the team sought contractual protections related to his medical status. His draft slot gave him an $8.6M 4-year deal. I am curious to see how much is guaranteed. I have seen some inconsistent numbers, but I believe it’s $6.5M over the 4 years with a void coming after year two if the knee is still a problem.

“I don’t want to say. Nothing is 100 percent,” Vrabel said, per NBC Sports’ Michael David Smith. “I don’t anticipate that whatsoever. I don’t. I am excited where he is at. I am excited that he wants to be here, he wants to get going, and he does not want to be on the field with the trainer, I will tell you that. He wants to get back out there, play ball, and be the player that we drafted and wanted to be here.”

Jacas is being punished for having an unauthorized knee procedure and not being honest and upfront with the Patriots medical staff on his 30 visit days before the draft.

Star of the Day – None, there was nothing to see here!

Safety Craig Woodson “Patriots safety Craig Woodson on the impact of new WRs AJ Brown and Romeo Doubs: “I knew that they would make plays. Those are all guys who can, you know, go up and get the ball, whatever the cost may be. They put it on film already, so that’s nothing that I didn’t expect.” – Henry McKenna

WR AJ Brown “They’re not really letting him throw the ball right now so I don’t like that” – per 98.5 Sports Hub Zolak & Bertrand

Patriots offseason award winners: OT Will Campbell, OLB Elijah Ponder, WR Kyle Williams, C Jared Wilson. – Mike Reiss

AJ Brown says he got “ripped” by Mike Vrabel for dropping that pass against Christian Gonzalez on day 1. – 98.5 Sports Hub When I saw the video, I thought Brown could have caught the ball if he brought up his other hand instead of trying a one-handed catch. He had Gonzalez beat.

Patriots HC Mike Vrabel on Kayshon Boutte trade rumors: “I’ve got a lot of respect for Kayshon. We went through this last offseason. He had a great offseason, he had a good training camp, and that played out during the season. He was a large part of our success. His communication through this offseason with Todd [Downing] and myself- he’s a pro. He understands what his job is, and he’s gotten off to a good start. So, I’ve got a lot of respect for him for the way that he’s handled these different situations, and the conversations outside of here, and the noise that doesn’t affect his performance on the field.” – Savage

Walkthrough. No competitive reps. Moses back as RT1, Lomu RT2. Kyle Williams looks like WR7, behind Brown, Boutte, Doubs, Hollins, Douglas and Chism, who ran with starters. – Andrew Callahan

Wide receiver splits: As the offense and defense each split into units across two fields, Drake Maye worked with A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs, Mack Hollins, Kayshon Boutte, and DeMario Douglas consistently throughout the day. In the first session, Kyle Williams was part of that group while Efton Chism III worked on the opposite field. Following a special teams period, the second-year receivers swapped fields for the second full-team session.

Patriots training camp practice notes (day 3): Today was a walkthrough practice in preparation for Thursday’s 1^st padded practice. – Brian Hines Pats Pulpit

Absent

PUP / NFI Harold Landry, Brenden Schooler, Terrell Jennings, CJ Dippre and Gabe Jacas

Returned to Practice Reggie Gilliam

John Saunders has been consistently repping with the first-team defense in today’s walkthrough. Seems like a wide-open competition for who’s the third safety. Mike Brown saw a lot of work on Saturday, and Pettus on Sunday. – Andrew Guidon

No competitive periods at a Patriots walkthrough today, so no major takeaways. They’ll be back to practicing at full speed tomorrow (pads on Thursday). One nugget: RB Lan Larison and TE Tanner Arkin appear to be early leaders for RB3/TE3. – Evan Lazar

DeAndre Hopkins, who is a guest of the team as he works with the offensive coaching staff, created disruption for receivers in a low-tempo drill as they had to catch the ball with him creating a distraction. – Mike Reiss

Jimmy Garoppolo is available as a Free Agent QB and has decided not to retire. I believe Garoppolo would be an upgrade as the backup QB over Tommy DeVito. Garoppolo knows the Josh McDaniel system. Garoppolo played three seasons with McDaniels for the 2014 – 2016 seasons and again while McDaniels was the Head Coach in Las Vegas in 2023. Garoppolo started four games for Tom Brady when he was suspended for Deflategate. I don’t know what it would take to sign Garoppolo, but I think it would be worth it. He played for $3.1M last season with the LA Rams.

Two Undrafted Free Agents are battling for backup spots. It appears that second-year player Lan Larison, a UDFA who spent all last season on IR, is leading the race for the 3rd running back spot. Tanner Arkin, a UDFA TE this year, is taking some reps with the 1^st team, and with Gilliam and Westover not practicing on Sunday, even played some Fullback and laid some good blocks (no pads) on EDGE Amari Gainer.

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About Mark Morse

Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.

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