New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo is reportedly making a notable change to training camp practices this year.
Per ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the Patriots plan to start practicing at 11 a.m. ET. That pushes things back later than the traditional 9:30 a.m. ET practices under former coach Bill Belichick.
Reiss suggested conditioning and allowing for more time for meetings before practice as possible reasons for the change.
He wrote:
One example of how Mayo is putting his own stamp on the Patriots is what time they plan to practice in training camp — 11 a.m. ET. Under Belichick in his final stretch of seasons, the team practiced at 9:30 a.m. Perhaps now there is a little more time for meetings before practice, and temperatures will rise a bit and test the team’s conditioning.
That later time could be more beneficial to the team, particularly from a conditioning standpoint.
The Patriots won’t have the most talented roster entering the 2024 season. They will have to show toughness and outwork far more talented teams to get more than four wins under their belt this time around.
Practicing in the dead heat of the summer with the sun beaming directly on the field is definitely one way to find a team identity.