Here are some news and notes from Friday’s New England Patriots practice session as the team practiced in pads for the second straight day:
Training Camp Practice Day 6
On Target – the most impressive day for the Offense
Attendance
Out: Christian Barmore and Carlton Davis
PUP Harold Landry and CJ Dippre
NFI Terrell Jennings, Gabe Jacas, Brenden Schooler
Passing Stats
Drake Maye: completed 19 of 21 combined pass attempts in 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s, with his lone incompletions being by choice: he took one throwaway in 7s and another in 11s. He had 5 TDs and 2 sacks
– Brian Hines
Tommy DeVito: 6 of 11
Behren Morton: 6 of 7, sack, TD. Morton has had a very good camp so far. I expect him to toast 3rd Team players in the Pre-season games.
Practice Notes
Hunter Henry’s catch for a touchdown from Drake Maye in the back left corner of the end zone against Craig Woodson. When Henry first lined it up, I thought there was no chance he could reach it. But the veteran stuck out his right paw, tipped it up, and caught it while getting his feet in. It was a sensational grab that apparently the crowd wouldn’t see because there was no reaction.
– Greg Bedard
“Lan Larison appears to be an early leader for the third running back role behind Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson.” To me it’s going to come down to the special teams aspect. Vrabel knows what Lan can bring to this backfield and team so I have FULL confidence in him taking this role.
– Evan Lazar
- One day after first-round pick Caleb Lomu delivered a two-handed shove to OLB Bradyn Swinson in 1-on-1 pass-protection drills that had Swinson landing with a thud, Swinson got his revenge with a decisive win over Lomu (right tackle).
- Starting DT Christian Barmore did not practice (unknown), while CB Carlton Davis III (appeared to injure his hamstring Tuesday) also remained out.
- Second-year WR Kyle Williams worked as the top kickoff returner alongside RB Lan Larison. Earlier in training camp, coach Mike Vrabel talked about the desire to improve the team’s kickoff return from last season (No. 19 in the NFL, 25.5 yards per return).
- LG Mehki Butler, who spent 2025 on the practice squad, was bumped from the third unit to the second unit in place of Caedan Wallace.
- Undrafted free agent LB Khalil Jacobs (Missouri) took some reps next to veteran Chad Muma on the second unit as he appears to be earning an expanded opportunity.
- Undrafted free agent TE Tanner Arkin (Illinois) has taken advantage of the team’s lack of experienced depth, as he continues to get repetitions with the top offense in team drills.
- Mack Hollins, who often stays late after practice to sign autographs, took things to a new level Friday by bringing fans on the field and racing them
– Mike Reiss
People saying “Efton Chism is a mediocre or average athlete” don’t know the receiver position at all.
– Joe Coccia
The man’s (Chism) routes and footwork are SERIOUS. I’ve been interested since the draft process last year
– Cam White
After getting wasted a few times for TDs, the Defense started blitzing and running stunts. This resulted in pressure and sacks. Craig Woodson had a sack when he came unblocked, and Kevin Byard blitzed twice untouched, but Maye got rid of the ball. The communication and post-snap recognition of pressure could be something a new C-LG-LT combination figures out with more live reps under their belts.
– The offensive line combinations with the three quarterbacks during warmups were as follows:
- Maye: LT Campbell, LG Vera-Tucker, C Wilson, RG Onwenu, RT Moses
- DeVito: LT Bryant, LG Butler, C Brown, RG Rupcich, RT Lomu
- Morton: LT Metz, LG Wallace, C Rizy, RG Morgan, RT Crownover
– LT Will Campbell is off to a solid start in his second training camp after finishing 3-0 in 1-on-1, with wins over Dre’Mont Jones, Jesse Luketa, and Xavier Holmes. Besides Jones, those other two aren’t projected frontline players, and Jones did win around Campbell’s outside edge for a pressure in team. Still, Campbell’s aggressiveness in his pass sets has been notable. He seems to be “catching” rushers less and bringing the fight to them more, which is good. Campbell looks like he’s in control of his approach and technique.
– Evan Lazar
OL Mehki Butler and OL Caedan Wallace: It looks like the second-string offense has a new member. After the former third-round pick Wallace served as both a backup left and right guard during the spring and early training camp, sophomore Mehki Butler filled that role on Friday. That is a nice promotion for Butler, while the end of the road might be nearing for Wallace.
– Brian Hines
DeMario Douglas had 4 receptions and s TD Friday
Eli Raridon has stacked three good practices together. Friday he had a TD catch and another nice sit-down in a zone.
My Opinion Through 6 Days of Practice
Is the O-line that much better or are the EDGE players that bad? – It appears that the O Line has performed better in one-on-one pass blocking drills. Have Will Campbell and Jared Wilson made the year two jump, or is the lack of pass rush players making it appear they are doing better? We won’t find that answer until the Patriots have a joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts.
Where is Romeo Doubs? – It’s like playing Where’s Waldo. Doubs had done nothing before Friday. The media hasn’t picked up on this yet, as they have been concentrating on AJ Brown, Kayshon Boutte’s remarkable showing so far, and Kyle Williams dismal performance (before yesterday). Williams has not played with the 1st team or Drake Maye at all. Doubs has and is not getting targeted. Maybe we should start to look at Romeo Doubs not getting on the same page as Maye. Perhaps we should look at trading Doubs and using that money to extend Boutte.
Kayshon Boutte – he has been the story of Training Camp so far. Boutte has been traded in the media since the Combine in February. Boutte stays away from off-season workouts in what appears to be his protest of being mentioned in trade talks. He showed up to the Mandatory Mini-Camp, as required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Then he goes out and shines in Mini-Camp despite not being at OTA’s. Now it’s Training Camp, and he is the star of Training Camp over the 1st three days, making spectacular plays, showing off his rapport with Maye. The best thing that I saw was his incredible ability to track the ball and make the adjustments needed to catch the ball. Don’t trade him … extend him!
Mack Hollins – The Patriots have three WRs that are in the last year of their contracts (Hollins, Douglas and Boutte). Two of them will be retained this year and one will not. Hollins will be 33 this season. Boutte is 24. Hollins can be used all over the field, even playing some TE. Last season Hollins played 60% of the snaps and Boutte played 58%. Douglas only played 26%. McDaniels has stated that he wants to get Douglas more involved. They added Doubs, and if he will be kept, you are looking at him getting 70% of the snaps and Brown getting 75%. The only way to get more snaps is to cut/trade one of the Wide Receivers. Either Hollins, Boutte or Douglas will be traded. So far in camp, Hollins hasn’t been a factor. Douglas was the #1 receiver this Spring. His track record has been that once the pads come on, he disappears. I think I would keep Boutte and cut Hollins.
Efton Chism – Has played with the 2nd unit for the most part. He has been a favorite of Tommy DeVito, and I anticipate that Chism will shine in the Pre-Season and Joint Practices. However, Chism is very slow for a Wide Receiver and Kickoff Returner. He has terrific short-area quickness but can’t run very fast. He is a willing blocker despite his small size. Chism catches everything thrown to him. He is under contract for next year, where Douglas isn’t. Do they keep Chism as a hedge against losing Douglas next year as a Free Agent? Keep in mind that Chism is going up against guys that are backups in the NFL when watching the Pre-Season games.
Interior O-Line Blocking – They haven’t been good this training camp. Far too many run stuffs by the D-Line. Is it the outstanding play by the Patriots Defensive Tackles or poor play of the O-Line? Again, we won’t know this until we have a joint practice. Jared Wilson is moving to Center from Left Guard. He is a much better pass blocker than run blocker. Alijah Vera-Tucker is knocking off the rust after missing the entire season in 2025. Even backup Ben Brown got beat up in one-on-ones yesterday, going 0-2. The only one holding his water is Mike Onwenu.
Rookie Tight Ends – Third-round selection Eli Raridon and UDFA Tanner Arkin have been thrust into the spotlight with the season-ending injury to Julian Hill. Both players have impressed so far in camp. Raridon appeared lost in the Spring practices viewed by the media. Not so anymore. Raridon has started to show off the talent that made him a high draft pick. He made a correct read in Tuesday’s practice, and he sat down in the zone and was rewarded with a pass and catch. Arkin was known as a blocking TE at Illinois. He is their biggest TE at 6’5”, 262 pounds. Arkin has shown the ability to be a devastating blocker early in camp, planting several Defensive players on their backside. Arkin was also a team Captain at Illinois.
Comings and Goings
Patriots announced they have released Linebacker Otis Reese. Reese, 28, was signed by New England to the practice squad on Nov. 17, 2025, and then signed to a futures contract on Feb. 10, 2026. The 6-foot-2, 228-pounder originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Tennessee out of Mississippi in 2023. He spent time on the practice squad and 53-man roster during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, seeing action in 20 games with five starts and accumulating 26 total tackles, 1 interception, and 12 special teams tackles. After being released by Tennessee following training camp in 2025, he spent time on the Buffalo practice squad before joining the New England practice squad.
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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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Lazar/PFW commented that Jam Miller looked eye-popping impressive on some running plays. Specifically some outside zone runs. Perfect timing on cuts and showed some explosion. Miller also looked good on between the tackles inside runs. I believe Lazar was high on Myles Montgomery too, but he highlighted Jam Miller. Bottom line is with Lan Larison looking good (as Mark noted), the Pats may have the 4 they need. You need someone on the practice squad, and you can carry 3 on the 53. Bottom line is the RB depth question-mark may be solved. That to me was especially important as… Read more »