New England Patriots
Carlton Davis returned to practice and Romeo Doubs made a highlight-reel catch at the end
Carlton Davis returned to practice on Monday AP Photo/Charles Krupa
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FOXBOROUGH – The Patriots were in shorts and shells on Monday, but the ramp up toward full contact continues this week.
New England is slated to host a joint practice session with the Colts on Tuesday before hosting the preseason opener at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night.
Hunter Henry was all smiles after signing a contact extension. The Patriots had a pair of starters return to practice after injury-related absences.
Romeo Doubs and Kyle Williams both had big catches during a busy day for the offense which included some late-game scenario scrimmage work at the end.
On Tuesday, the pads go back on and New England will be able to test itself against an opponent for the first time this season. But first, here are five takeaways from Monday’s action.
Campbell, Davis return
Left tackle Will Campbell and cornerback Carlton Davis both returned to practice on Monday. Campbell was a full participant, including team drills and 1-on-1 sessions. Davis was limited.
The Patriots were also without cornerback Charles Woods who had been filling in for Davis during the bulk of the reps with the first team during scrimmages.
Defensive lineman Christian Barmore, who was out on Saturday, missed his second straight practice on Monday.
Doubs, Williams flash
Romeo Doubs, who has had a somewhat quiet camp thus far, made a highlight-reel catch, high pointing a throw from Drake Maye and hanging onto it as he fell into the end zone for a touchdown, closing out the two-minute drill portion of practice.
Kyle Williams caught a caught a deep ball from Tommy DeVito. Williams has primarily been working in a reserve role this summer, but his speed seems to be an attribute that could help keep him competitive within a crowded wide receiver room.
A.J. Brown’s concentration also stuck out with a catch on a curl route with a pair of defenders nearby.
Overalls Drake Maye went 10-for-16 during team drills and did not commit any turnovers.
Lomu continues to shuffle
Last week, during Campbell’s absence, Marcus Bryant repped with the starters at left tackle. Lomu stayed in his backup right tackle spot.
On Monday, Lomu was at left tackle with the second-team as he continues to learn several positions on the line.
“It’s been good to be able to learn both sides of the line, just understand the playbook a little bit more,” Lomu said. “It’s a little bit different at first, different footwork, different hand placement going the opposite way on one side, but it’s been helping me a lot being able to get more playing time”
Did you know?
Rookie tight-end Tanner Arkin made just twelve catches during his high school career.
He primarily played defense back then, and his size, athleticism, and physicality helped earn him an opportunity at Colorado State.
“Varsity football was a little rocky for me,” Arkin said. “Started off as a d-end and got hurt my junior year, so I really only played in one scrimmage and only had scrimmage film from my junior year. I got recruited off of one year of scrimmage film, really.
“Senior year I was playing defense and playing hurt too. It wasn’t the smoothest high school career for me, but I think coaches saw what I brought to the table in the few games that I had.”
Becoming the hunted
The Patriots flew under the radar last year. They were coming off of a 4-13 season at the beginning, and lost two of their first three games.
They won’t have the luxury of being able to sneak up on teams this year. Earlier in camp, cornerback Marcus Jones said the Patriots are going from hunter to hunted.
He was asked how the team has responded with more than a dozen training camp practices in the books.
“I feel like it’s been a great response,” Jones said. “Every time we come in we feel like we need to prove more and more every single day. There’s nobody in the building that thinks about complacency so that’s great as well.”
“Taking it one day at a time has been very important as well … our big thing is not making the same mistakes.”
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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