FOXBORO -- Wednesday was the second day of mandatory minicamp for the Patriots, which was held on the upper grass fields behind Gillette Stadium with the temperatures in the 60s. As has been the case in other sessions, it lasted just over two hours.
Players who missed the session included wide out Malcolm Mitchell, safety David Jones, running back Brandon Bolden, guard Joe Thuney and wide receiver. Kenny Britt. Several others were limited: Jonathan Jones, Cyrus Jones, Nate Ebner, Jason McCourty, Isaiah Wynn, Trent Brown, Malcom Brown, Marcus Cannon, Keion Crossen and Braxton Berrios.
Britt appeared to injure his hamstring in Wednesday's session.
Here are some quick observations from the workout.
-- As a whole, Tom Brady wasn't nearly as sharp as he was on Tuesday. The 40-year-old had several passes broken up and deflected, but did make a great throw to James White up the sideline in 7-on-7 work. This was his best throw of the day. Brady's first three throws in 11-on-11 work fell incomplete. After getting beaten pretty soundly the day before, the defense definitely responded on Wednesday.
-- Rob Gronkowski had another great day and had even more energy than a day prior. After high-stepping following a big play Tuesday, on Wednesday he threw the ball into a tree. This came with Jordan Richards in coverage. He seems to have enjoyed being back on the field the last two days.
-- Julian Edelman did a little bit more than he did on Tuesday, but everything seems well and good with the 32-year-old wide receiver.
-- Brian Hoyer was up-and-down with a very poor throw leading to a Richards interception standing out. Rookie Danny Etling continued to take a number of mental reps and working with assistant quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski.
-- Undrafted cornerback J.C. Jackson continued to lineup opposite Stephon Gilmore in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 work. He holds his own, so he seems like a player to keep an eye on as the summer progresses and as the preseason games get going.
-- Cornerback Jason McCourty has yet to do a team drill to this point in the spring.
-- Tight end Jacob Hollister returned and make a good amount of nice catches. He seems to be well ahead of where he was at the end of last year as a rookie.
-- Music was brought in to simulate crowd noise during 11-on-11 work.
-- NFL officials were in attendance and helped out with passes thrown on the sideline to rule if they were complete or not, and also spotting the ball during two-minute work.
-- In one drill, Wynn and Brown were pulled and reamed out by offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia.
-- Rookie running back Sony Michel continues to impress and has showed the ability to make defenders miss. Rex Burkhead has looked the best out of the Patriots running backs with Michel close behind. Jeremy Hill and Mike Gillislee have struggled at times and appear low on the depth chart. But, keep in mind this is all without pads and things could change when training camp rolls around.
-- The team continued to spend a good amount of time on kickoffs and adjusting to the new rules. Former Arkansas coach Bret Bielema has been quite involved with these. Also, Cordarrelle Patterson figures to benefit greatly from these changes.
-- Robert Kraft was on hand like he was for Tuesday's session. The same goes for the University of Iowa coaching staff.
The last day of minicamp is slated for Wednesday morning.
