FOXBORO -- Thursday was the third and final day of mandatory minicamp for the Patriots, which was held on the upper grass fields behind Gillette Stadium under mostly sunny skies and temperatures in high 60s. As has been the case in other sessions, it lasted just over two hours.
Players who missed the session included wide receiver Kenny Britt, safety David Jones, running back Brandon Bolden and guard Joe Thuney. Cornerbacks Cyrus Jones, Keion Crossen and Jonathan Jones, safety Nate Ebner, wide receiver Braxton Berrios, defensive tackle Malcom Brown and offensive tackle Marcus Cannon were present and worked out on the lower grass field.
Also, it's worth noting Jason McCourty continued to not participate in team drills and Trey Flowers left the session early.
Here are some quick observations from the workout.
-- The big news of the day was Julian Edelman reportedly facing a four-game suspension for using a performance-enhancing substance and it was clear during the session something was up with the 32-year-old wide out. Edelman was the last player to arrive on the field for practice and then didn't participate as much as the previous two days. He spent a good amount of time on the stationary bike speaking with trainers, and then when Robert Kraft came out he and the owner talked for a good amount of time.
-- Tom Brady had an up-and-down day. It wasn't as good as Tuesday, but not as inconsistent as Wednesday. Overall, there was a lot of sloppy play from the offense. At one point there was a substitution infraction during 11-on-11s with Brady at quarterback involving Phillip Dorsett and Bill Belichick made the entire offense, coaches included, run a lap. After the lap, he stopped practice and addressed the team for several minutes.
-- Brian Hoyer was inconsistent again, with a bad fumble in 11-on-11 work and Belichick made him take a lap. Rookie Danny Etling saw more work than in recent days and continues to showcase his strong arm.
-- Undrafted rookie JC Jackson once again saw extensive time opposite Stephon Gilmore at cornerback.
-- The running backs got a lot of work in the passing game with instruction from Josh McDaniels. James White, Rex Burkhead and Sony Michel were in this group.
-- Dwayne Allen had a difficult time moving around throughout the session and was limping towards the end.
-- Work on kickoffs was done, but not as much as Wednesday.
-- Etling, Braxton Berrios and Jordan Matthews were part of the last group on the field getting some extra work.
-- Belichick spent a good chunk of practice with Tony La Russa and Gus Quattlebaum, who is the vice president of the Red Sox' scouting department. Quattlebaum is a Phillips Academy graduate, which is where the coach attended school also.
-- Coaches from Duke, Syracuse and Iowa were in attendance.
