It was far from perfect, and the Patriots weren't in pads, but Drake Maye and the offense took a step forward on Thursday.
That alone likely put a smile of Jerod Mayo's face, but the first-year coach also saw Matthew Judon return to the practice field after missing the padded work on Monday and Tuesday. And Mayo saw the return of veteran center David Andrews, who missed the last two days while tending to his ailing son.
Overall, it was a positive return to work for the Patriots in steamy Foxborough. After enjoying a day off on Wednesday, the players wore helmets and shells in 90-plus degree heat and humidity and put forth a reasonable bounce back effort.
Most of the work came in the low red zone, where windows get tighter and receivers have less room to shake the coverage. Normally that represents an edge for the defense, especially the secondary. But on Thursday both Jacoby Brissett and Maye found some open receivers and enjoyed some success.
Brissett capped his first red zone series by finding a wide-open Hunter Henry in the flat after the tight end leaked out near the goal line for the easy touchdown. Maye had a touchdown to La'Michael Pettway before turning in an impressive improvisational play for another score.
Maye began to scramble to his right before spotting K.J. Osborn along the back of the end zone. Maye continued rolling right and appeared to fire a no look pass back to the left to Osborn for the touchdown. It was a dangerous play and one that can lead to trouble, but it also showed Maye's athleticism and arm strength and gave the group a lift. In between those throws he appeared to have JuJu Smith-Schuster for another TD, but Marcus Jones was able to wrestle the ball away from the veteran wideout in the end zone.
Later in practice with the ball moved back into the middle of the field, Maye executed a nice play action before decisively landing on his back foot and firing a 12-yard out to Mitchell Wilcox on the left sideline. The play showed Maye's ability to perform in rhythm and the offense made it look routine.
To be fair there were still some signs of struggles as well. Another false start penalty marred a series of plays as Calvin Anderson was sent for a lap. Maye also missed an open DeMario Douglas on an out in the red zone, and Brissett was forced to throw a couple away when the secondary was in good position.
But it had to be considered progress for an offense that hasn't been able to sustain much success thus far, and the fact that it came near the goal line made it even more impressive.
"Everything happens a lot faster down there," cornerback Christian Gonzalez said. "It was definitely not our best day as a group. We'll have to get together and watch some film on it and get back in the swing of things."
"Our communication needs to be better than that," fellow corner Jonathan Jones added. "But we need days like that to work on stuff and make improvements and we'll be better for it. It definitely wasn't our best, but the quarterbacks did a good job of scrambling and keeping their eyes downfield. That always makes it tough in the low red zone."
Beyond the offensive resurgence, here are one man's observations from Day 7 of training camp.
*Before practice Mayo told reporters he had a nice conversation with Judon and expected the veteran pass rusher back on the field. Moments later No. 9 made an appearance, and he took part in all position drills, 7-on-7s and the full team work.
"Our philosophy is to keep as much internal as possible," Mayo said. "We had a great meeting with Judon, and we're all moving forward.
"First-time head coach and first time in pads, I'll always remember what happened that day," he added when asked specifically about Monday's events when Judon was on the field but not in pads. "We had a conversation. I have a great relationship with Matthew. I have a great relationship with the players. But we're moving forward, and we're trying to work through it."
It will be interesting to see how Judon's situation is resolved moving forward. Meanwhile, the team is expected to be back in pads on Friday.
*The other veteran who expressed displeasure with his contract, Davin Godchaux, was all smiles after agreeing to a two-year extension on Wednesday. Unlike Judon, Godchaux was in pads and took part in practice on Monday and Tuesday, and then word came down that he inked a $21 million deal with $16.5 million guaranteed.
"It feels good to be back to football," Godchaux said after practice. "My wife always tells me you're not always going to get what you want every time but just be grateful for what you have."
"The thing about Godchaux is he's a huge piece of what we do," Mayo said. "I'm happy to have Davon here happy and ready to go. So, it's good. He handled it like a professional in the classroom and out here on the field. He was out here in full pads participating in everything, and that definitely helps."
*Andrews returned after missing the last two practices and expressed thanks for those who helped tend to his son at Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence. "My baby's been in the hospital and hopefully he will be coming home today," Andrews said. "I want to thank all the ER and ICU nurses and doctors for all their hard work and care. It's good to be back."
Andrews returned to his center spot for the first set of 11-on-11s but was replaced by Nick Leverett at times. Interestingly, Vederian Lowe replaced Caedan Wallace at left tackle, moving the rookie to the second group. Otherwise, the line was unchanged with Sidy Sow, Andrews, Mike Onwenu and Chuks Okorafor joining Lowe. It's possible that Mayo and the coaches wanted to have Wallace, who spent the previous three practices at left tackle with the top group, protect Maye's blindside on Thursday.
*Elsewhere on the attendance front there were no changes to the PUP list with Kendrick Bourne (knee), Cole Strange (knee), Sione Takitaki and Jake Andrews all remaining out. Bourne continues to do conditioning work during practice while Strange and Takitaki were both spotted as well. Christian Barmore (blood clots), Marte Mapu, Jabrill Peppers, Jaheim Bell and Tyrone Wheatley also missed practice. Peppers was in uniform but did not take part while Mapu continued his routine of arriving about a half hour into practice and taking mental reps from well behind the secondary.
*Douglas and Shaun Wade remain in red, non-contact jerseys but Douglas took part in his first plays in 11-on-11 so he must be closing in on 100 percent. Wade on the other hand walked off the field with a member of the training staff with about 30 minutes to go in practice.
*Marcus Jones, Douglas, Jalen Reagor, Osborn and David Wallis all caught punts from the machine early in practice while holding another ball in one hand. The group struggled but most managed to corral a few with their lone free hand.
*After practice the Patriots announced the signing of veteran defensive lineman Mike Purcell. The 6-3, 328-pounder spent time on the Patriots practice squad in 2017 and was with Denver the last five seasons. The 33-year-old has played in 90 career games with 45 starts and has 208 tackles and 3.5 sacks in time with the Broncos, 49ers, Rams, Bears, Panthers and Chiefs.
*Former center Dan Koppen made an appearance in the media tent.
*Tyquan Thornton continues to make plays on the practice field. On Thursday he got the better of Gonzalez on a pair of 1-on-1 reps in the red zone, then began an 11-on-11 series by catching a slant from Brissett behind Alex Austin for what would have been a big play, perhaps even a touchdown. He was open on a few occasions in the team red zone work later as well. Thornton has enjoyed solid camps in each of his first two seasons, so the key for him will be finding consistency and durability. Overall, I'd say he's been the team's best receiver in camp.
*Joey Slye and Chad Ryland wrapped up the two-hour practice with four field goals each, ranging from roughly 33-48 yards out. Always tough to tell for certain but it appeared as is Slye missed one from 40 while Ryland was a perfect 4-for-4.
*In addition to Godchaux, Gonzalez, Andrews and Jonathan Jones, Ja'Lynn Polk and Joshua Uche also spent time chatting with the media after practice.
*The Patriots will be back at it on Friday and are expected to be in full pads in Foxborough. The workout is open to the public and will begin at 11 a.m. with gates set to open at 10 a.m.
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