New England Patriots
The second-round pick is now under contract, but he has yet to make his training camp debut.
One of the things that drew the Patriots to Illinois defensive lineman Gabe Jacas was his incredible athleticism. Butch Dill
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Patriots place newly-signed rookie Gabe Jacas on non-football injury list
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What Will Campbell said about training with his Buffalo Bills counterpart
FOXBOROUGH – Spectators could tell what kind of day it was from what was on the players’ heads. The Patriots used Day 3 of training camp as a walk through. No pads, no helmets, just time to work on the mental aspects of the game.
A.J. Brown, the former San Diego Padres draft pick turned Pro Bowl receiver, rocked a baseball cap. DeMario Douglas and Craig Woodson wore bucket hats. Some players skipped wearing a hat altogether.
On such a day, keeping track of attendance can prove to be quite valuable. Right tackle Morgan Moses returned after being absent on Sunday. Second-year receiver Kyle Williams was absent. Gabe Jacas and Harold Landry, who missed the first two days of camp, continued their absences on Monday.
As the Patriots eased their way into the week, here are five takeaways from Monday’s practice and press availabilities.
Vrabel doesn’t anticipate Jacas missing the season.
The Patriots have officially signed rookie linebacker Gabe Jacas, ending a months-long contract dispute.
New England placed Jacas on the non-football injury list earlier this week, an indication that he is not available to practice yet. Coach Mike Vrabel said the team is still evaluating Jacas’s progress.
“Again, we talked about this before, that we were going to evaluate him, we are going to see where he is at,” Vrabel said. “This is all part of the process.”
“We would do this with any player who had some extended time away or had surgery in the offseason, just like the other guys. So, I am again, cautiously optimistic that he will work his way through the return to play, and we will get him back out there.”
ESPN’s Mike Reiss called Jacas’s contract situation “unique,” noting that Jacas has an injury waiver for his left knee. Reiss previously reported that Jacas had a “clean up” procedure done on the knee during the offseason, which at one point had not been disclosed to the team.
There has been speculation that Jacas could wind up missing his entire rookie season. He has missed the first three days of training camp, along with all of OTA’s and minicamp. Vrabel said he doesn’t think Jacas will miss the whole year.
“Nothing is 100 percent. I don’t anticipate that whatsoever. I don’t. I am excited where he is at,” Vrabel said. “I am excited that he wants to be here, he wants to get going, and he does not want to be on the field with the trainer, I will tell you that. He wants to get back out there, play ball and be the player that we drafted and wanted to be here.”
Moses returns, Lomu works on multiple positions
Morgan Moses, who started all 17 games for the Patriots at right tackle last year, returned to practice on Monday.
First-round pick Caleb Lomu had taken first team reps at right tackle on Sunday during Moses’s absence.
Lomu has taken reps at both tackle spots during the offseason, as well as some brief appearances at tight end.
“Well, there are a lot of new things, a lot of firsts out there, and things that show up,” Vrabel said. “Try to get him some jumbo tight end work, and he will play some tackle, he will play some guard.”
“We are just going to look at some versatility and see where he fits and how he can help us, but there will be a lot of things that are going to be new to him and some techniques that are different and run schemes and pass protection. So, he is a willing participant, he is a willing learner. He learns quick. He usually does not make the same mistake twice.”
Staying away from the moneymaker
The last practice of minicamp ended early after Bradyn Swinson collided with Drake Maye.
The second-year linebacker spoke with the media for the first time since then. He said the collision with Maye was an accident and ended up being a valuable lesson.
“It wasn’t a knockdown. I just fell. I know they said, or made it sound like I tackled him or anything, but I never tackled him. I literally fell and I helped Drake right up. Accidents happen, but I just had to learn the lesson. Stay away from the moneymaker. Drake, that’s our moneymaker.”
Help wanted at kick returner
The Patriots have one of the best punt returners in the game in Marcus Jones, but they’re still working out who will field kicks for them.
Jones also plays nickelback, so the Patriots have been mindful about how they’ve been using him. Last season, Efton Chism and Williams got the bulk of the kick return opportunities after Antonio Gibson went down after a season-ending knee injury.
Vrabel was asked if anyone had separated themselves from the group this year. He did not mention anyone in particular.
“You saw the impact that Marcus [Jones] made for us in the return game when we could force teams to punt last year, and the difference that that made in a lot of games,” Vrabel said. “We will continue to cycle through and take a look at some of these receivers, but also look at some of these running backs that can kind of help us.”
Offseason award winners
Vrabel said he was pleased with the showing from a number of the Patriots’ second-year players during the offseason, and he mentioned four of them as award winners during the Patriots’ offseason program.
“It was a good showing by the second-year group: Kyle Williams, Elijah Ponder, Jared Wilson and Will Campbell,” Vrabel said. “So, that is really good to see from a second-year group.”
“We had a lot of really good efforts in there, and I thought guys made strides, but it was good to see those guys from year one to year two be able to help us establish something in the offseason.”
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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