Patriots training camp takeaways: Pats hold walkthrough ahead of joint practice with Commanders
After a padded practice that lasted over two hours on Monday, the Patriots shed the pads and held a walkthrough behind Gillette Stadium on Tuesday. The action should come fast and furious Wednesday when the Patriots and the Commanders share the practice field, as Vrabel and Washington head coach Dan Quinn map out the best way for the two teams to join forces and get their work done ahead of Friday night's preseason opener.
For Patriots players, they can't wait to get pads back on and go hit someone other than their own teammates.
"It's going to be really good for us. Really good to compete against someone else and see different things we haven't seen yet. It will be really good to sharpen our tools," Kyle Dugger told me after Tuesday's walkthrough. "It's a great opportunity."
Here are some of the takeaways from Tuesday's practice, which was the 11th of Patriots training camp.
Cornerback Marcellas Dial joined Christian Gonzalez on the DNP list, after he was carted off Monday with a leg injury. Linebackers K'Lavon Chaisson and Jahlani Tavai both spent their Tuesday on the lower conditioning field, while defensive lineman Jacquelin Roy was missing from the defensive side.
On offense, linemen Morgan Moses and Sidy Sow were both on the lower field, and I didn't spot tight end Tyler Davis. Receiver Kendrick Bourne missed his second straight practice after he suffered an injury last Friday night, and isn't expected to take the field for New England the rest of the week.
Veteran Carlton Davis lined up as one of the team's top corners on Tuesday. He's been taking part in the team's walkthroughs, but has missed padded practices so far this summer. We'll see if he's out there Wednesday when things get taken up a notch.
DJ James lined up opposite Davis late Tuesday, as he continues to climb the team's depth chart. James had a number of quality battles with receivers on Monday, and earned the praise from Kayshon Boutte on Tuesday.
"DJ has done a tremendous job stepping up filling in that role," said Boutte. "He's kind of a smaller corner, but he's giving us the looks that we need. Shout out to him."
Boutte has had an excellent summer and has already earned a spot in Drake Maye's receiving corps. It's not a luxury Javon Baker has at the moment, but the second-year receiver got some snaps with New England's top offense Tuesday alongside Boutte, Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas, Mack Hollins, and Kyle Williams.
Getting some first-team reps could have been a reward for Baker after he had a solid day of practice on Monday,
While Will Campbell and Morgan Moses figure to be the team's starting tackles, the Patriots could definitely use a swing tackle for some depth. Campbell is going to have his share of rookie growing pains, and the 34-year-old Moses has racked up a lot of NFL miles over his career.
With that in mind, Vederian Lowe took some reps at right tackle on Tuesday. He worked on the left side Monday.
With Moses on the conditioning field, Marcus Bryant was the starting right tackle and got a lot of run in the position on Tuesday.
Defensive coordinator Terrell Williams was back on the field with the team after he had to leave Monday's practice to get treated for dehydration.
Here come the Commanders! After Vrabel chats with reporters at 10 a.m., the Patriots will take the field with the Commanders for a joint practice around 10:15 a.m. Wednesday morning.
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