As the DeAndre Hopkins news, rumors, and reports continue to circulate the air around Gillette Stadium, the rostered Patriots returned to work on Monday afternoon for mandatory minicamp.
“I don't know about that. We talked to him, we're working through a couple things,” said head coach Bill Belichick on the reports of the wide receiver visiting New England.
Gresh and Fauria: Is Hopkins using the Patriots?
Here’s what happened at Patriots minicamp on Monday:
Offense
- Trent Brown, JuJu Smith Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, and James Robinson were not at practice.
- Trent Brown’s absence is not holdout/contract-related. The tackle planned to be at minicamp, but his flight to Boston was canceled, per Mark Daniels.
- It was the tight end show at Patriots pratice on Monday. The New England offense ran a ton of 12 personnel and both Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki were heavily involved in the passing game.
- Rookie interior offensive lineman Atonio Mafi wore a red non-contact jersey at practice. He was nursing a calf injury during the pre-draft process earlier this year.
- Kendrick Bourne was heavily involved on offense the ball found his hands plenty on Monday. A great play design by Bill O’Brien during 11-on-11 opened up Bourne for a TD. As he does, he celebrated the score with Parker.
- Mac Jones finished practice poorly, throwing interceptions to Kyle Dugger and Adrian Phillips on back-to-back drives.
Defense
- Lawrence Guy did not report to Patriots minicamp on Monday, and the reason is contract related, per Mike Reiss. He signed a four-year, $11 million contract prior to the 2021 season.
- Marte Mapu started OTAs primarily at linebacker before bring shifted primarily to safety. He repped at both during Monday’s practice and looked poised at both spots, heavily helping the unit communicate coverage.
- Jonathan Jones returned to practice and mostly repped opposite Christian Gonzalez at cornerback.
- Jack Jones repped with the first-team at cornerback during two-minute drill and made a nice pass breakup on DeVante Parker. Mac Jones went right back to the matchup on the next play and completed the pass.
- Two-minute drill was the defensive back show. Kyle Dugger jumped a flat-route for a would-be pick six and Christian Gonzalez had a nice PBU on DeVante Parker. Adrian Phillips tallied an interception as well.
Special Teams
- Marcus Jones, Myles Bryant, Jabrill Peppers, Demario Douglas, and Ed Lee took reps as the Patriots punt returners.
Guest List
Penn State head coach James Franklin was also a guest of Belichick’s at minicamp on Monday.
Former Patriots Devin McCourty, James White, LeGarrette Blount, and Aaron Dobson were all spectators. We spoke to Bill Belichick prior to practice, who told us that Blount and Dobson are here as part of the NFL’s Bill Walsh fellowship to help aspiring coaches gain experience. McCourty and White? They’re just hanging out.
Who Said What?
Speaking of quotes, we heard from quarterback Mac Jones and rookies Christian Gonzalez, Keion White, Bryce Baringer, Demario Douglas, and Malik Cunningham after practice.
Cunningham, who was drafted as a quarterback out of Louisville, told us that the Patriots were the only team who worked him out at wide receiver during the pre-draft process. He also mentioned that offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien was the one who ran the workout. How was it getting acclimated having never ran a route before? “There’s some days where I’m like, man I’m overwhelmed. But I just take a deep breath and take it day by day.”
Rookie Demario Douglas, nicknamed “Pop” exudes confidence and looks ready for the bright lights despite playing college football at Liberty. He says he brings “energy” to the wide receiver room.
First round pick Christian Gonzalez has already become a consummate Patriot with the media, telling us that he’s, “trying to ask a bunch of questions, learn from the vets… and really just enjoy my moment here. Stay in the present, and take it day by day.”
With the addition of Bill O’Brien on offense and a report that he’s been the one who’s working most heavily with quarterback Mac Jones, Jones was asked what his working relationship has been like with Bill Belichick:
“I think we have a great coaching staff,” Mac said. “Coach Belichick’s done a great job… [I] pick his brain about defense becuase he’s really good with the defensive side of the ball, and learning that part of it because that’s really what he does really, really well.”
Wrap-Up
Overall it was a competitive practice on Monday with both the offense and defense having their ups and downs. No one definitively won the day.
The Patriots will be back on the practice field on Tuesday for day two of minicamp. Stay tuned here at WEEI.com for coverage all week.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
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