6 rings: The return of Mike Gesicki, Demario Douglas limited & and all the notes from Patriots practice Tuesday
The Patriots were back in Foxborough on Tuesday after they canceled their joint sessions with the Titans this week. Injuries, both returns and absences, highlighted an other wise shorter, walkthrough-paces practice outside of Gillette Stadium.
Here’s everything that stood out:
Notes and Storylines: Offense
- Tight end Mike Gesicki, Pierre Strong Jr., and Ty Montgomery all returned to practice on Tuesday. Gesicki and Strong Jr. donned red non-contact jerseys, while Montgomery looked to be full go - until he made his way to the bike and conditioning field for the second half of practice.
- Rookie wide receiver Demario Douglas left Tuesday’s session immediately following stretch and headed to the conditioning field. He returned towards the end of practice but didn’t take any reps. Something to monitor as we inch closer to week one.
- Tyquan Thornton, who hurt his shoulder in new England’s second joint practice with Green Bay, was not at practice.
- Adrian Klemm had a quick conversation with Sidy Sow following the first drive of team periods that stood out. It was a coaching moment that may not have seen from New England’s offensive coaches a season ago.
- The Mac Jones to Hunter Henry connection remains on fire as the tight end continues to be the QB’s security blanket.
- Jones also connected with Kayshon Boutte on a slant during team drills with Jack Jones in coverage. The rookie is starting to string together some solid performances.
Notes and Storylines: Defense
- Keion White who was banged up during joint practices in Green Bay, looked to be back and healthy, but then went to condition with about 25 minutes left in practice. He’ll be fine, but still being caution.
- No Jonathan Jones again at Patriots practice. Although the report is that he “should be back” for New England’s season opener, you would think the team would want to start tamping him up a bit before game action.
- In Jones place, the cornerback rotation continues. Myles Bryant and Marcus Jones, and Jack Jones all repped on the boundary.
- Speaking on corners, Shaun Wade got a lot of run in the slot on Tuesday after playing there in both of New England’s preseason games. He’s starting to make a real push for a roster spot.
- On a Myles Bryant rep from the slot during two-minute drill, he intercepted Mac Jones on an attempt to JuJu Smith-Schuster
- Towards the end of practice, defensive back Jalen Mills looked shaken up and was tending to his right foot. He didn’t return.
- Nice pass break up from Rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez had a nice pass break up on an attempt from Bailey Zappe. His quick instincts continue to impress.
Notes and Storylines: Special teams
- Marcus Jones, Kayshon Boutte, Kyle Dugger returned kicks for the Patriots. We’re starting to see some consistency there with these three.
- Chad Ryland took reps over Nick Folk during team periods and went 0-3 on field goal attempts. The rookie kicker is having a hard time breaking through as Folk remains Mr. Consistent.
Wrap-Up and Takeaways
While today’s session was certainly a slow one, both the returns and absences injury wise were noteworthy. Overall, this team continues to grind through camp and looks a lot more poised and put together compared to a season ago.
The Patriots will hit the field again on Wednesday before flying to Nashville on Thursday for their preseason game against the Titans on Friday. We’ll have you covered here on WEEI.com for all of it.
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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