MORSE: Notes & Analysis of Patriots Training Camp

Practice 18 was a walkthrough with little information coming out of the session as the team prepared for their upcoming joint practices against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Attendance

Absent: CB Christian Gonzalez, LB Chad Muma, LB Xavier Holmes, C Ben Brown, WR Kyle Dixon, OG Greg Van Roten (not signed yet)

PUP/NFI: LB Harold Landry, S Brenden Schooler

Returned: WR Kobe Prentice

Practice Notes

RB 3 competition has gotten interesting with Hassan Haskins and JaMycal Hasty, who were both working with the starting and backup quarterback.

EDGE rushers Gabe Jacas and Quintayvious Hutchins also received some 1^st team looks against Drake Maye

Jesse Luketa and Christian Elliss participated in practice after each player had left practice early on Monday. – Sophie Weller

WR Efton Chism III: The second-year wide receiver continues to be prominently featured on offense and in the kicking game. On Tuesday, he was part of the first-team offense around starting quarterback Drake Maye again while also serving as a personal protector on the punt team. It very much is starting to feel like the Patriots are trying to find as many roles as possible for him in order to justify having him on the roster. – Bernrd Buchmasser

(Note: Kayshon Boutte doesn’t play any position on Special Teams – MM)

S Mike Brown: Time will tell whether or not Brown can make a late push for the third safety spot, but he very much has held onto a valuable job throughout training camp: personal punt protector, a position he again played on Tuesday. While the aforementioned Efton Chism has started seeing reps in that role as of late, Brown’s experience — he has 141 in-game snaps as a PP on his career résumé — might give him an edge and could ultimately secure him a spot on the 53-man team. – Brian Hines

(IMO Brown’s defensive liabilities doesn’t warrant keeping him, that is why the team is trying Chism at the Personal Protector position – MM)

Comings and Goings

I wrote about Greg Van Roten on Monday before he was actually signed late yesterday. Matt Sidney a resident Giants expert from Fansided’s GMenHQ had this to sat about newly signed O Lineman. “Greg Van Roten is an unreal late-offseason signing. While he primarily plays right guard, he can play all three interior positions. Over the last two years with the Giants, he started all 34 games, never missing a snap.

GVR is the ultimate locker room/glue guy and a veteran the G-Men will no doubt miss this upcoming season. The Pats are getting a real one, and their interior depth just got a major upgrade.”

Van Roten started at Right Guard for the 2023 Las Vegas Raiders under Josh McDaniels. This will give Van Roten a leg up in learning the playbook since he has already played in the Josh McDaniels offense. Van Roten played all 17 games that season. He has started and played all the games the last three seasons.

The corresponding move was to waive recently signed TE Mitch Van Vooren. To his credit Van Vooren did have a catch in the Pre-season game against Indy. The 6’5” 255-pound TE was a Track Star at Marquette before transferring to St. Norbert to play football. Last season the UDFA was in camp with Seattle and Cleveland.

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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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