FOXBOROUGH -- Not many people on the Patriots know more about Hunter Henry than Adrian Phillips.
The two were teammates with the Chargers from 2016-19 before Phillips joined the Patriots last offseason.
With Henry playing tight end and Phillips a versatile member of the secondary, the two had some spirited battles during practice on the West Coast and now with Henry joining New England, those have been restarted in New England.
"That’s my guy right there," Phillips said following the first day of training camp. "We had a lot of battles out in L.A. together, and it was no different. I don’t know if you could see, he was waving me out there when it was time for the play. Because every time we go against each other, it’s a battle. So it was fun to get one."
Phillips got the best of Henry Wednesday, as he picked off a Cam Newton throw intended for the tight end in the end zone. Although, it's worth noting the throw was well behind him.
"I have been going against AP for a long time, dating back to the Chargers days in camp, too," Henry said. "He’s a tremendous football player. Super smart. It’s fun. It was fun to see a familiar face. We just continue those battles and we battled all spring. We will continue to battle throughout the summer and training camp. This whole defense as a whole, they throw so many different looks at you, do so many different things that you have to wary of, so every single day you have to put your thinking cap on and be ready to go. There’s a lot of thinking out there so when game day comes it will be a little bit more of a breeze.”
Henry has had at least 600 yards receiving his last two seasons and those numbers could be even better without him getting injured. Phillips knows how good he can be.
"He’s a beast," he said. "That’s why his nickname’s 'The Beast.' Every time I see him, I’m always yelling, 'Beast!' He’s a guy that just works hard. He talks about the New England Way. That’s him. He’s going to come in, do his job, he’s never going to complain about anything, and he’s gonna ball."
The Patriots will be back on the practice field Thursday morning.
