New England Patriots
“I think that’s the message right there. Stay away from Drake.”
Drake Maye stretches with his teammates Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images
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FOXBOROUGH – The good vibes were rolling at Gillette Stadium on the final day of the Patriots’ three day mandatory minicamp.
It was a red-zone heavy session with an emphasis on finding ways to score when the field shrinks. Drake Maye was spreading the ball around to a bunch of different receivers. Coach Mike Vrabel reminded players to celebrate after they scored.
But, practice came to an early end after a collision with linebacker Bradyn Swinson knocked Maye to the ground.
Maye seemed OK and was able to get on his feet, but seeing the franchise quarterback on the ground wearing his red No. 10 non-contact jersey was a startling moment nonetheless.
“That’s not OK,” receiver A.J. Brown said. “Nobody should be on the ground at practice. That’s my rule. If anybody is on the ground, it’s a bad practice.”
Coach Mike Vrabel gathered entire team into a huddle and spoke for a few minutes. Practice did not resume after that. It ended about 20 minutes earlier than expected.
“I think that’s the message right there,” defensive end Elijah Ponder said. “Stay away from Drake. Stay away from all the quarterbacks. You know they’re very valuable and we need them for the season, so we’ve got to protect them at all costs.”
Here are a few more takeaways from the action.
Up-and-down day for Maye
At the beginning of practice, Maye looked sharp once again in the red zone, hitting a plethora of receivers for short touchdowns.
Whether it was getting the timing right on screen passes to Rhamondre Stevenson or throwing it up in the back of the end zone for Romeo Doubs and A.J. Brown, Maye was able to make his reads quickly and place the ball where it needed to be.
However, as practice went on, the defense began to do some little things to throw Maye off. They sent Marcus Jones on a cornerback blitz that seemed to startle Maye into a high throw that went incomplete. He sailed a pass over Mack Hollins’s head while trying to thread it into tight coverage. There was a rep or two when the pocket collapsed and Maye had to tuck the ball and run.
He completed 10 of his 20 passes, but most of the completions went for red zone touchdowns. There were plenty of highlights, but there were also several high throws that missed the mark.
A.J. Brown’s outfield instincts took over.
As Maye and Brown continue to develop their connection, there have been a few plays that stuck out over the past few weeks.
On Thursday, the one that stood out the most was a throw to Brown in the back corner of the end zone. Brown had his back turned as he was battling for position, but Maye put the ball within reach as Brown turned around to reach for it with both hands.
Brown, who was a highly-ranked baseball prospect in high school, was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 19th round of the 2016 MLB draft. He said his baseball background helped him make the highlight-reel catch.
“I think Drake started on the right side, but came back to me a little late, threw the ball, a great ball, back shoulder,” Brown said. “I just kind of turned my head. Obviously, the DB doesn’t know where the ball is.
“My background playing baseball, centerfield, turning over the shoulder, looking over the shoulder — that’s a tough catch, man. I’m just glad I got my feet down.”
They even tried to sneak in a touchdown for Will Campbell.
The Patriots had Will Campbell report as an eligible receiver for one play towards the end of practice.
Maye tried to hit the 6-foot-6, 319-pound left tackle with a short throw near the front of the end zone, but Campbell was covered tightly and the throw was too high for Campbell to make a play on it.
It was a little wrinkle near the end of a competitive practice heading into a long break.
Swinson’s role
Swinson’s collision with Maye happened on a dropback passing attempt during 11-on-11 scrimmages.
Finding that line between playing hard and making sure the quarterback doesn’t get hurt can be difficult, especially for pass rushers. Still, Maye’s value to the team makes that kind of mistake one that is taken relatively seriously.
“Yeah, for sure,” Ponder said when asked about the difficulty of stopping momentum in such moments. “Especially when you’re trying to finish a play, because getting a sack is just a small little detail and you can miss it just like that. We can’t really work on the finish aspect, but like I said we’ve got to protect our quarterbacks.”
Before practice, Vrabel said he was excited to see how Ponder handles his role on special teams.
“He came back in shape, came back ready to go,” Vrabel said. “I think he realized what professional football is after camp, where he was and what his role was, and he realized that maybe he wants a different role. I think he’s been conscientious with special teams.
“Sometimes you get these defensive ends that come in from college that are outside linebackers, and they haven’t done a lot of special teams. So, that’s a critical element. We need those players to be good on special teams for us.”
A long break awaits
Thursday’s session was the last Patriots practice before traning camp begins next month.
Training camp will begin July 25th at Gillette Stadium and will run through August 20th when the Patriots host Brown’s former team, the Eagles, for joint practices in Foxborough.
New England also has a joint practice scheduled with the Colts on August 11th.
The Patriots have a little more than a month until they’ll hit the practice field again.
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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