Tag: Patriots 2023 Training camp

This savage Mac Jones moment vs Packers reportedly excited Patriots

Mac Jones was cooking defenders on Thursday.

The New England Patriots came out on fire in Thursday’s final joint practice with the Green Bay Packers, and this time, nobody was there to pour a bucket of ice water on their hot streak.

Patriots quarterback Mac Jones was especially efficient in the practice session, heaving up multiple long throws and exposing Green Bay’s secondary.

But the best play happened later in practice.

Emotions were high on a day when the Patriots were clearly getting the best of the Packers. Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings even got kicked out of practice after a brush-up with Packers linebacker Keshawn Banks. So it was a hot-headed day full of shouting and hard-nosed competition.

On one particular sequence, via NESN’s Dakota Randall, Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander shouted at Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers, who was standing on the sideline at the time. Moments after Alexander’s sideline trash talk, Jones gave new meaning to the word savage by hitting wide receiver DeVante Parker for a 50-yard touchdown.

Half of the team ran to the end zone to celebrate after the play.

Thursday’s practice was a great turnaround compared to what we saw from the Patriots on Wednesday. Whether they can carry that effort into Saturday’s preseason game remains to be seen.

Things aren’t necessarily perfect, and they might not even be great at the moment. It’s clear this Patriots team still has problems. But they also have more tools and the determination to fix them in 2023.

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Patriots LB Anfernee Jennings kicked out of practice vs Packers

Things are getting heated on the field in Day 2 of the Patriots and Packers joint practices.

Things got chippy on the practice field between the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers on Thursday. It even escalated to the point where Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings was kicked out of practice.

Per NESN’s Dakota Randall, Jennings was ejected after delivering a blindside hit to Packers linebacker Keshawn Banks during a punt drill. Banks reportedly appeared to be engaged in an altercation with Patriots rookie defensive end Keion White when the incident occurred.

The joint practice has mostly been a continuation of a fiery meeting on Wednesday, but things have clearly reached a whole other level on Day 2 with a Patriots player needing to be thrown out of practice.

At the very least, this should make for more drama when the two teams collide in Saturday’s preseason game at Lambeau Field.

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6 takeaways from Patriots’ road scrimmage with Packers

Things got testy between the Patriots and Packers on the practice field.

There was a different intensity in the air for Wednesday’s practice as the New England Patriots went head-to-head with the Green Bay Packers in their first official training camp scrimmage.

It was the first time that the starters faced legitimate competition outside of the controlled environment in Foxborough. They were right across from Lambeau Field at this particular practice taking on a Packers team that made big plays on both sides of the ball.

It did seem like Green Bay had the advantage in the competitive 11-on-11s portion of practice, but there were also some positive signs of life from the Patriots’ end as well.

Here are the players that missed the scrimmage:

OT Mike Onwenu

CB Jonathan Jones

TE Mike Gesicki

G Cole Strange

OT Calvin Anderson

RB Ty Montgomery

RB Pierre Strong Jr.

DE Trey Flowers

ST Cody Davis

LB Ronnie Perkins

C Kody Russey

Let’s jump into some takeaways from Day 1 of the Patriots’ two-part road scrimmage with Green Bay.

First videos emerge of Ezekiel Elliott on the field with Patriots

Patriots RB Ezekiel Elliott is already on the practice field with his new teammates.

The New England Patriots are in Wisconsin this week for joint practices with the Green Bay Packers, and newly-signed running back Ezekiel Elliott is wasting no time in making his presence felt.

After agreeing to a deal with the Patriots on Monday, there were questions regarding Elliott’s availability for practice. He made the trip with the team, but some wondered if he’d actually get some on-field work with his new teammates.

Those questions were answered with videos emerging of Elliott on the field in a Patriots jersey for the very first time going through drills and working out with Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe.

Elliott is expected join forces with Rhamondre Stevenson as another workhorse back to help lighten the load. His arrival couldn’t have come at a better time with the Patriots still missing both Ty Montgomery and Pierre Strong Jr.

Patriots catch huge break with Mike Gesicki injury update

Some good news on the Mike Gesicki injury front

The latest update regarding the shoulder injury suffered by tight end Mike Gesicki at Monday’s training camp practice should have New England Patriots fans sleeping a little bit easier.

Gesicki reportedly had a “mild dislocated shoulder” at practice. There are no guarantees of a return date, but given the nature of the injury, the Patriots are hopeful he’ll be available for the regular season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, per the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

New England has leaned heavily into reviving an offense that makes use of two tight ends. That was the thinking back in 2021 as well, when the team signed both Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith to lucrative deals.

However, the Smith project didn’t go as planned, and he was ultimately shipped to the Atlanta Falcons in a trade back in March. So the Patriots brought in Gesicki in hopes of adding another reliable receiving option to an offense clearly lacking in that department.

Gesicki has had a strong training camp up to this point, particularly in recent practices where he has made multiple highlight-worthy plays. For an offense lacking in elite playmakers, they’ve already shown themselves to be a much better team when he’s on the field.

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5 takeaways from Day 13 of Patriots training camp practice

Malik Cunningham got more work at QB, a starting offensive lineman returned and Christian Gonzalez made a big play on Day 13 of training camp practice.

It was back to practice for the New England Patriots on Sunday, following Thursday’s preseason opener against the Houston Texans.

There are positives and negatives to take away from every game, but the biggest negative for the Patriots was the offensive line struggles. Granted, the starters weren’t in the game, but given the number of injuries the team has suffered along the offensive front, some of the players in the reserve unit could very well become starters when the season begins.

So the health of the offensive line is something to keep an eye on moving forward. Meanwhile, the positives for the Patriots were mostly Malik Cunningham and a strong early defensive effort.

Cole Strange practiced in a limited fashion on Sunday, which was great news for the Patriots. The full list of player absences is as follows:

CB Jonathan Jones

G Mike Onwenu

RB/WR Ty Montgomery

DE Trey Flowers

OL Bill Murray

ST Cody Davis

RB Pierre Strong Jr.

OL Kody Russey

OT Calvin Anderson

This practice was a bit on the softer side with the Patriots working out in helmets and shells. Here are five takeaways from Day 13 of training camp practice.

Best photos from Patriots training camp ahead of preseason opener

Here are some photos from the Patriots’ 2023 training camp.

The New England Patriots are 12 practices into training camp and deep in on preparations for their first preseason game on Thursday night against the Houston Texans.

It has been a tough camp filled with battles at most positions. There have even been a few surprises, most notably with the sudden emergence of rookie sixth-round draft picks Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte.

Things also feel a bit more normal this time around with Bill O’Brien stepping in as the new offensive coordinator. The offense is clicking in ways it wasn’t around this time last year, and the defense is benefitting from competitive reps.

Here’s a look at the best photos taken during the dog days of training camp up to this point:

5 takeaways from Day 11 of Patriots training camp practice

The Patriots kick-started game prep for Thursday’s preseason opener.

The New England Patriots were back in pads for Day 11 of training camp practice on Monday. There was a different feeling in the air for this practice with it being the first preseason game week.

The Patriots are slated to face the Houston Texans, who will reportedly start rookie No. 2 overall draft pick C.J. Stroud at quarterback. So there’s a little hype behind Thursday night’s game, even though it’s just a preseason match-up.

When it comes to attendance at practice, things looked similar for the Patriots with the offensive line still missing multiple starters. Center David Andrews returned, but the following were still out:

G Michael Onwenu

CB Jonathan Jones

ST Matthew Slater

G Cole Strange

RB/WR Ty Montgomery

G Bill Murray

OT Calvin Anderson

ST Cody Davis

Trent Brown is still limited, but after practice, he said he expects to be ready by Week 1 of the regular season. Here are five takeaways from Day 11 of training camp practice:

Patriots OT Trent Brown explains limited training camp availability

Why has Trent Brown been limited at training camp? Here’s what the Patriots’ starting offensive tackle said on Monday.

Trent Brown spoke to the media on Monday afternoon after a rain-soaked practice and confirmed that his limitations at training camp are not contract-related. Quite the contrary, he expressed frustrations for not being able to join his teammates on the practice field.

For much of the spring and training camp, the Patriots’ left tackle has spent most of his time working off to the side on conditioning, while the rest of the team practiced without him in competitive drills.

Similarly, Matthew Judon was on the same path, but his tweaked contract over the weekend put him back on track as a full participant. That begged the question: Was Brown’s absence due to a contract issue? Well, according to Brown himself, that isn’t the case.

Brown also mentioned that he is dealing with something injury-related, but it shouldn’t affect his Week 1 status against the Philadelphia Eagles in the regular season opener.

When he is healthy and on his game, Brown is an above average offensive tackle. Like most of the players on the team, he checked out last season with the offense in turmoil. However, this year, he arrived in great shape and locked in. The Patriots offense has been struggling without Brown and starting guard Mike Onwenu.

Let’s hope Brown can heal up quickly to give fans a taste of what the team could look like with a healthy offensive line. This could simply be a situation of the team taking it easy on a banged-up, talented lineman and saving him for when it really matters.

As for now, the depth is thinning up front, and Brown’s absence makes it even more glaring.

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Stock up, stock down for Patriots ahead of preseason opener

Who’s stock is up and who’s stock is down for the Patriots?

The New England Patriots are approaching their first preseason game of the 2023 season on Thursday, which will be an important test for every player on the 90-man roster. Each player is fighting for a role and an opportunity to make the 53-man roster.

As each week passes, we will be taking a look at players or position groups and breaking down how they have been performing this summer.

Stock watching is a way of sharing what we see and how a player is performing or building off of their past performances. Generally, the more a stock drops, the lower their roster lock status becomes.

As with all roster moves, there are multiple facets that get taken into consideration, like contracts, draft status and positional need. Let’s take a look at who is up and who is down in the Patriots’ stock watch.