FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots held their first of two joint practices with the Giants Wednesday on the upper grass fields behind Gillette Stadium.
The session was very competitive and lasted upwards of two hours in hot and humid conditions.
Here are the players who were not spotted: outside linebackerr Josh Uche, quarterback Cam Newton, wide receiver Tre Nixon, wide receiver N’Keal Harry, tight end Matt LaCosse and cornerback Justin Bethel. This is in addition to players on PUP and NFI: Stephon Gilmore, Jarrett Stidham, Terez Hall, Byron Cowart, Joshuah Bledsoe and Cameron McGrone.
Hunter Henry, Brandon Bolden and Myles Bryant all wore red non-contact jerseys.
In addition, Isaiah Wynn and Nelson Agholor left the field during the practice. It’s unclear what happened with them, but it may have been heat-related.
Here are some observations from the session.
— Mac Jones saw a ton of reps with Newton missing another day because of a “COVID misunderstanding” and delivered with his best day of the summer. He was also the best quarterback on the field — miles ahead of Daniel Jones. It also felt like he knew it was a big day for him because he was more animated than usual — both good and bad. He fist pumped and gave thumbs up to teammates following multiple touchdown passes and then got mad at himself for messing up a protection call.
Jones’ best throws were to James White and Jakobi Meyers. His throw to White was a perfect back-shoulder throw up the sideline that was in the air before White even turned. And then he had a great deep ball to Meyers in double-coverage. It was a great catch, but also a great throw.
A lot of situational work was thrown at the rookie — goal-line, third down, two-minute — and he seemed to handle everything well.
The rookie seemed in command of everything and was very comfortable with everything thrown at him. He didn’t take too many shots down the field, but was very precise on his short-to-medium throws. That seems to be what the offense will be focused on this season.
Jones did have a sack and a would-be interception, but not everything is going to be perfect when taking that many reps, especially as a rookie.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Newton if he returns like is expected on Thursday. Does he immediately return to first-team reps? How are they split? Regardless, Jones took full advantage of his increased reps Wednesday.
— There was a scrum early in the session between the Patriots offensive linemen and Giants defensive linemen in 1-on-1 drills. It’s unclear what prompted it, but for the Patriots Isaiah Wynn and Michael Onwenu seemed to be heavily involved. No punches were thrown, but upwards of 25 players were gathered in a circle. The Patriots unit did take a lap afterwards, but it seemed like it was because they lost the drill.
— Before Agholor left, he had the case of the drops.
— Henry participated in 7-on-7 work, but not 11-on-11.
— With Wynn leaving the session early, Yodny Cajuste took over his snaps at left tackle. Cajuste has really came on strong the last week or so and has put himself in the mix for a roster spot.
— Damien Harris continues to be the lead back, getting all the top reps for the backs. With Sony Michel out of the picture, Rhamondre Stevenson continues to get a lot of work, as it seems like he’s in line for a bigger role than expected his rookie season.
— Jalen Mills and Kyle Dugger had trouble in coverage on a few plays. Dugger did have an interception of Jones on a badly thrown ball.
— Overall, the Patriots clearly won the day on both sides of the ball. It is worth mentioning the Giants played Sunday night, while the Patriots’ preseason game was last Thursday.
— The Giants ran the hill for conditioning work at the end of practice and not the Patriots.
— Jon Bon Jovi was a special guest.
— The two teams will return Thursday morning for a second joint session before Sunday’s final preseason game. It is free and open to the public.