Last the media saw the Patriots on the OTA practice field, Cam Newton was an observer after suffering an injury to his right throwing hand.
As Bill Belichick noted in his morning Zoom call with the local media, that seemingly minor issue would keep Newton from the third New England OTA session of the spring open to the media.
“He's doing all right. He won't participate today but he's getting better," Belichick said. "He's not out there but I think he'll be all right."
So it was no surprise that Newton was not on the field or that his absence would open up opportunities for other quarterbacks.
What was surprising was the guy who seemed to shine the most under sunny skies for the Patriots passing attack – veteran backup Brian Hoyer.
While the Patriots passing game had a bounce-back morning overall following a ugly session a week earlier, that it was Hoyer shining the brightest rather than No. 15 overall pick Mac Jones or third-year backup Jarrett Stidham is less than ideal.
Hoyer pushed the ball down the field with regularity in his opportunities in both 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 work. He clearly made the quickest reads and threw with the most accuracy and precision of the three quarterbacks on the field for the workout.
Jones, the upstart rookie, had a quiet day and seemed to take a backseat in terms of reps to his veteran counterparts. From this perspective, after viewing two OTA sessions, Jones has been a bit underwhelming.
Stidham took the first reps in most drills and segments of practice and didn’t make any egregious mistakes but also didn’t do a lot garner notation. For lack of a better word, he was fine.
One positive sign for the entirety of the offensive players was the elimination of the costly drops from a week earlier. That led to more completions for a unit that was the more vocal and energetic group, something that was true of the defense in the previous media OTA.
Beyond the ongoing focus on every rep, read and throw at the quarterback position the other key note out of Thursday’s Patriots OTA session was that high-priced free agent addition Hunter Henry seemed to injure his left lower leg/foot about midway through the workout. The issue popped up after Henry tumbled to the ground while running a route. He walked off on his own before having the issue looked at by the medical staff and seemingly getting re-taped.
After testing the ailment out, Henry did not take part in the remainder of the workout. Instead he watched the action from the sideline while down on one knee.
It’s worth noting that Henry has never played a full 16 games in the NFL. He’s missed at least two games in each of his last four seasons with the Chargers, missing all of 2018 after a serious offseason knee injury that included a torn ACL.
The next chance reporters will have to potentially see Henry, Newton and the rest of the Patriots on the field will be New England’s mandatory mini-camp scheduled for next week, June 15-17.
Other than the QB situation and Henry’s status, here are one man’s observations from the grassy media hill at Patriots OTAs:
--Those players not seen on the field for the OTA session included Newton, K Nick Folk, WR Nelson Agholor, CB Stephon Gilmore, RB Brandon Bolden, RB Sony Michel, TE/DE Rashod Berry, LB Terez Hall, LT Isaiah Wynn, TE Jonnu Smith, WR Devin Smith, DL Lawrence Guy and DL Byron Cowart.
Agholor and Berry were new additions to the absentee list, while N’Keal Harry returned after missing last week’s session in front of the media.
Other faces on the field for the first time in front of reporters included LB Ja’Whaun Bentley, S Adrian Phillips, DB Devin McCourty, CB J.C. Jackson, RB Rhamondre Stevenson and RT Trent Brown.
--Hightower had a very active first workout in his return to practice action in front of the media. Though the veteran looks like he may be a bit slimmer after opting out of last season due to COVID, he jumped right back into his spot in the middle of the defensive front seven. Lining up with Josh Uche, Kyle Van Noy, Matt Judon and others in various looks, it’s clear the Patriots front seven will be far more athletic, dangerous and versatile than it was a year ago. Hightower could be a big part of pulling all that together.
--The running back position also got a boost with Damien Harris and Stevenson taking more active roles than they have previously this spring. Harris – wearing some really short shorts FWIW – was vocal and energetic throughout the session. There were plenty of segments focused on the running game and he took the lead-back carries, as one might expect especially with Michel not taking part.
Stevenson was also active and the first takeaway from his work is that he’s indeed a big, athletic option. Clearly there is a possibility of him catching the ball out of the backfield.
--Usually a later arrival for the practices, Patriots owner Robert Kraft was on the field for the early portions of the workouts. He had a long conversation with Berj Najarian, New England’s director of football/head coach administration. Kraft also gave his returning captain Hightower a big hug as the two crossed paths in the middle of the two practice fields.
--One of the more interesting new drills noted during the workout was for the defensive backs/cornerbacks. The players worked on their backpedals and turning their hips while holding onto a towel with both hands that was wrapped around their necks. One can presume it was to emphasize a focus on not using their hands, which could lead to a penalty in game action.
Later in the practice during group drills the cornerbacks wore fingerless mitts/pads on their hands while in coverage, similar to what a boxing coach might wear for his fighter to hit. Again, it forces the coverage guys to play without using their hands or gaining an advantage by grabbing the receiver.
--Jones did not wear a compression sleeve on his right lower leg/calf, as he had during last Friday’s OTA.
--TE/FB Dalton Keene continues to wear a full length sleeve on his left leg during workouts. The second-year player also spent time riding an exercise bike early on in practice.
--During positional drills wide receivers worked on staying low in their releases while running through an archway made of PVC pipe. From afar it didn’t appear that guys like Gunner Olszewski had to work too hard to stay under the relatively tall doorway-like structure.
--Matt Patricia continues to work primarily with the defensive line on the practice fields. Supposedly retired trusted Belichick advisor Ernie Adams was once again on the field for the OTA session.
--During the first offensive line reps in full team drills the line included, from left to right, Brown, Ted Karras, Davis Andrews, Shaq Mason and Mike Onwenu. Brown stepped right into the left tackle spot in his first workout in front of the media with Wynn absent. Meanwhile, this was the first time Onwenu took significant reps on the outside on front of the media, having worked inside at left guard the last couple OTA sessions.
--For most of the day the QB reps went from Stidham to Hoyer to Jones. During one portion of team action it went Stidham to Hoyer and back to Stidham.
--There was a focus on the running game for the team offense vs. a scout team holding bags early in practice. Harris had a bounce in his step in the drill.
--Scout linebackers wore yellow pinnies over their practice jerseys for the drill, Nos. 52 and 56. It seemed to be to help the line/QBs focus on their Mike calls and communications.
--During one 11-on-11 segment of practice New England used just one defensive lineman in a Dime package that showed the versatility of its safeties and linebackers at the line of scrimmage.
--Uche had to run a penalty lap after jumping offsides in a team drill.
--One of Hoyer’s better throws of the day and one of his many big plays was dropping the ball perfectly into the waiting hands of Olszewski for a would-be touchdown on a deep crosser. Another Hoyer pass connected with Isaiah Zuber on a deep sideline throw. Hoyer also had a catch-and-run big play to second-year tight end Devin Asiasi. Not known for his arm-strength or big-play ability in his journeyman backup career, Hoyer made plays in his chances throughout the session.
--After dropping a number of balls and fighting a few others in last Friday’s workout, Kendrick Bourne caught the ball better in Thursday’s workout.
--Kyle Dugger and J. J. Taylor took some kickoff return reps.
--During another special teams segment Jakobi Meyers and Olszewski handled the bulk of the punt return reps, though others back deep included Bourne, Taylor and rookie Tre Nixon.
--While the offense and defense were working on a far field, punter Jake Bailey tried his leg on a few field goal attempts. Using the three-legged holding apparatus that kickers use in pre-game warmups, Bailey actually just missed a 70-yard attempt wide right. Long snapper Joe Cardona also tried his leg from about 53 yards and didn’t embarrass himself by any means.
--Stidham had a nice completion down the deep left sideline to Kristian Wilkerson, with Jalen Mills getting twisted up in coverage.
--Practice concluded with some late field goal and field goal block work.
--The players then retreated to the far corner of the field for some conditioning runs on the hill built in that area for such a purpose.