New England Patriots
Kayshon Boutte continues to thrive, while injuries sprouted up at the cornerback position on Tuesday.
Mike Vrabel and the Patriots ramped up the intensity on Tuesday. (Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff)
July 28, 2026 | 5:01 PM
6 minutes to read
FOXBOROUGH — The New England Patriots aren’t cleared for full padded practices quite yet during training camp.
But after wrapping up a lighter walkthrough on Monday morning, New England donned shells and ramped up the intensity Tuesday during a muggy morning in the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium.
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday’s practice:
Kayshon Boutte has been the Patriots’ top player to open camp
For most of this offseason, it felt all but inevitable that Kayshon Boutte’s time with the Patriots was coming to a close.
Even though the 24-year-old wideout was a key cog in New England’s offense last season as Drake Maye’s go-to deep threat, Boutte has found himself mentioned in several trade rumors throughout this offseason.
Those trade whispers only grew louder after Boutte wasn’t present with the rest of the team during voluntary OTAs earlier this summer, but he was accounted for during mandatory minicamp.
But for all that added noise about Boutte’s future and participation during offseason workouts, it hasn’t impacted his play so far during training camp.
Through the first few days of camp, Boutte has been New England’s most impactful player — and is making a valid case to remain in place on a talented (albeit crowded) Patriots wideout room.
Boutte reeled in four catches during Tuesday’s practice, including a highlight-reel grab off a throw from Drake Maye. After slipping past veteran safety Kevin Byard, Boutte snagged the throw from Maye off a go route, holding onto the offering in the end zone in what stood as a 40-plus-yard touchdown.
Even if New England might have concerns over handing Boutte a hefty new contract after this season — or have questions over his effectiveness if relegated to more of a lesser role as the team’s WR3 or WR4 — Boutte is making a valid case for sticking around on this team so far during camp.
“I have a lot of respect for Kayshon, and we went through this last offseason,” Mike Vrabel said Monday about how Boutte has handled distractions this offseason. “He had a great offseason, and he had a good training camp, and that played out during the season. He was a large part of our success, and his communication through this offseason with Todd [Downing] and myself — he is a pro.
“He understands what his job is, and he has gotten off to a good start. So, I have a lot of respect for him for the way that he has handled all these different situations, the conversations outside of here, and the noise that does not affect his performance on the field.”
A.J. Brown, Drake Maye not quite on the same page
While Kayshon Boutte has hit the ground running so far during camp, the same can’t be said of New England’s top offseason pickup: former All-Pro wideout A.J. Brown.
During team drills on Tuesday, Drake Maye had two incompletions on his first two throws to his new WR1.
As is the case for most players when adjusting to a new team and offensive scheme, Brown appears to be going through some growing pains while building a rapport with Maye.
After Maye overthrew his first attempt to Brown during 7-on-7 drills, the duo couldn’t link up at the start of 11-on-11s. Maye’s attempt landed on the turf after it seemed as though the QB was expecting his wideout to run a different route on the play.
Maye and Brown did settle into a groove as practice went on, with Brown snagging two short throws — one of which could have led to a significant gain in yardage after he juked past Kindle Vildor in coverage.
There’s no need to sound the alarms after a slower start to camp for Brown. But it’s a reminder that it takes time for even the most talented players in the NFL to build up chemistry, especially when it comes to QB/WR duos.
Patriots cornerback depth chart takes a hit
While Christian Gonzalez — despite still not having any resolution in contract talks — remains a full participant so far during camp, the depth chart behind him at the cornerback position isn’t looking too promising, at least on the injury front.
Veteran cornerback Carlton Davis exited practice during 7-on-7 drills after appearing to tweak something, while depth corner Charles Woods exited the practice fields before 11-on-11 drills ended. Woods appeared to be laboring; he needed help from Patriots trainers while making his way off the gridiron.
New England’s ramped-up intensity on Tuesday and muggy conditions might have also led to several heat-related setbacks for players. Rhamondre Stevenson also didn’t finish practice and was not made available to the media after he was initially scheduled to do so.
Elsewhere on the injury front, Patriots 2026 second-round pick Gabe Jacas was present during practice but did not participate while wearing a long-sleeve shirt and shorts.
Jacas ended his extended holdout on Saturday after signing his rookie deal. Still, the former Illinois standout pass-rusher is currently on the non-football injury reserve list and will need to work his way back into game shape after undergoing offseason knee surgery and missing all of OTAs and minicamp.
Raridon rising up depth chart
One of the top spots on the depth chart to watch during camp is New England’s backup tight-end role behind Hunter Henry — a vacancy created after free-agent pickup Julian Hill suffered a season-ending injury during OTAs earlier this summer.
Through the first few days of camp, it looks as though 2026 third-round pick Eli Raridon is making a compelling case for an immediate role on New England’s roster.
Despite the risk that comes with putting a rookie in an elevated spot right away in the NFL ranks, Raridon hasn’t looked out of place so far as Henry’s primary backup, with the Notre Dame product putting together his best practice so far as a pro on Tuesday.
Raridon had three catches during Tuesday’s session, including an impressive contested grab over Dell Pettus on a crossing route that was delivered off a throw from Tommy DeVito.
Speaking on Monday, Mike Vrabel offered a solid endorsement of Raridon while also cautioning that rookies have a long way to go before they can carve out definitive roles at football’s highest level.
“We will see when pads come on; things change, but I think he has tried to play with the speed that we felt like he had and may not always have shown,” Vrabel said of Raridon. “Sometimes with the younger players it is, ‘Hey, let us go play and push the envelope, and let us play faster,’ almost to the point of out of control, and then we can coach the details and dial you back.
“Really, it is just to understand the speed of this game at this level. Sometimes they try to be right, and in trying to be right, they do not play as fast. Not that I have given some of these young guys a free pass to make mistakes, but we can coach mistakes; we cannot coach you to play faster.”
Solid start for Lomu
Another Patriots rookie in 2026 first-round pick Caleb Lomu has also held his own so far during training camp — winning a few 1-on-1 battles while also earning reps at both left and right tackle during team drills.
“Really good player. I like his attitude. He’s not a guy who is going to complain or let his bad plays get to him,” veteran guard Alijah Vera-Tucker said of Lomu. “He’s going to move on to the next one. And that’s what you need in this league. He does a good job of just keeping his head down and paying attention. When his role is called, he’ll be ready.”
Much like Raridon, it will be interesting to see how Lomu fares once the pads go on and the physicality ratchets up. But the early returns have been promising for Lomu, who will likely be the first man up if injuries or underperformance sprout up at the tackle position this season.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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