The Patriots are scheduled to be on the field Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 10:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. for mandatory mini-camp.
I say "scheduled" because it does not appear yet — I'm not Mr. Social Media Stalker — that the Patriots have taken one of their team-bonding trips, which has seen them at places like Fenway in years past. Maybe, due to the pandemic and certain people (Mac Jones) needing all the reps they can get under these now-normal conditions, that Bill Belichick will pass on an excursion for now, and do it at some point in training camp. If Belichick decides to reward the players, I would expect Wednesday's on-field practice to be canceled for paintball or something like that.
In any event, these will be the final practices before the team reports for training camp. With all players having to report and all three practices open to the media, we'll have a much better understanding of where the Patriots see certain players and units. Of course, as always, players and teams are not static. Things can and often do change. How the team views a player now could be 180 degrees different than where said player is at for the start of the regular season.
Having said that, here are our top five questions heading into Monday's session:
1. Where's Stephon Gilmore?
One of the key players for 2021 that we have yet to see is the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year. When we last saw Gilmore, he was on the turf holding his leg against the Dolphins on Dec. 20th. Gilmore had a partially torn quad, and media reports at the time said he could return at some point in the offseason. Well, this is the last chance.
I would expect Gilmore to report to camp and possibly be visible at camp. It would be impressive if he took the field and possibly in his best interest — to demonstrate to the Patriots and the rest of the league that he's full-go and ready for the season and perhaps a new contract. Or Gilmore could skip it altogether and signal to the Patriots he needs a new deal (he's currently scheduled to make $7 million this season after some of his '21 money was advanced to '20) or that he desires a trade to someone who will give him a new contract.
There's little doubt the Patriots need a player of Gilmore's caliber on the field. Considering the lack of moves in the secondary, it appears they are waiting for him and ready to plug him in. They did sign Jalen Mills who has and can play cornerback, but he appears destined to be a jack of all trades/safety for the Patriots. There's no question the Patriots' defense looks much better with Gilmore, JC Jackson and Jonathan Jones at cornerback than any other combination.
2. What's going on in the front seven?
Now that Dont'a Hightower has a few practices under his belt, we should see him back in a starting role for this camp, and the trickle-down effect should be far-reaching when it comes to the linebackers and edge players. Without Hightower on the field and when they were ramping him up with fewer reps last week, there was plenty of playing time for players like Josh Uche. Will that continue?
Here's the issue: depending on where Kyle Van Noy lines up, the combinations are limitless. Let's just use this as an illustration:
Van Noy could be a linebacker. He could be on the edge. Uche could fill the other spot depending on where Van Noy is. But if the Patriots want both Adrian Phillips and Kyle Dugger on the field, then you either have to take Uche or a defensive lineman off the field. Yes, it's complicated.
It will also be interesting to see what the Patriots do with Montravius Adams, who has been seen a lot in sub in practices. Is he just a placeholder for Christian Barmore? Or is Adams in the plans?
All of the different combinations are interesting and I would expect the Patriots to continue to tinker and experiment throughout the summer and, of course, they'll have different personnel matchups depending on the opponent.
3. What's going on with the quarterbacks?
Would not surprise me if Cam Newton is back on the field this week and taking his normal reps. He knows he can't yield any ground, and the injury was fairly minor.
Certainly with all three practices open to the media, we'll have a more complete picture at how the Patriots are handling the QB position. It would not surprise me if the Patriots had a different QB among Newton, Jarrett Stidham and Mac Jones taking the top reps each day. And no, I don't think the reps say anything at this point. We will not know anything about the QB position until very late in training camp, and even then it might switch because there is so much time before the start of the season after the media's access to practice gets cut off.
Jones is right where he needs to be. If anyone was reading too much into his comments last week ... good luck. Jones knew exactly what he was saying to the media; he's very smart. There was no way he was going to tell the media that the playbook was easy and he was ahead of schedule. Behind the scenes, the Patriots are very, very comfortable where Jones is. He's way ahead of every other rookie QB that has been here.
4. Where's Isaiah Wynn?
Another player we haven't seen in a while ... the Patriots' left tackle. The last we saw him, he had another season ended on injured reserve, this time with an ankle injury. The Patriots obviously feel good about where Wynn is because they picked up his guaranteed fifth-year option for next season. He hasn't been on the field yet and as a result, Trent Brown has shifted to the left side, Mike Onwenu has been at RT, and Ted Karras has minded left guard.
Given the fifth-year option, I would expect Wynn to be on the field and I would not be surprised if the Patriots looked at some different combinations (Brown at LT, Wynn at LG and Onwenu at RT). I still expect Wynn to be the left tackle, Brown at RT and Onwenu at LG, but this is why you look at different combinations — you never know what you might like. Plus, the Patriots crosstrain their linemen.
5. What's going on with the tight ends?
Hunter Henry tweaked an ankle last week. We have yet to see Jonnu Smith on the field, and Devin Asiasi has started to make some plays. And you also have Dalton Keene getting into the mix at fullback and tight end. You also still have Matt LaCosse on the roster.
Obviously, given all the Patriots have invested in the position in 2020 (draft) and 2021 (free agency), the tight ends are going to be vital to the offense. We have yet to really see much of their plan there, and this should be the first time we see how much they use the tight ends and, conversely, the receivers. What are the combinations? Who's lining up where? How many receivers? Are Henry and Smith always going to be on the field? These are some of the big questions we have yet to see any answers for.
NICKEL PACKAGE
1. With the Patriots never really in the Julio Jones discussions, some money burning in their pocket and the receiver depth chart still a little thin, I would expect the next big name that will titillate the Patriots fanbase to monitor all the time to be Odell Beckham Jr. I still expect the Patriots to maintain the status quo at least until deep in training camp — the trade deadline is more likely — but what Jarvis Landry said to Browns reporters will get people all hot and bothered. “Man, he looked amazing,’' Landry said. “I can’t wait for you guys to see him. I can’t wait for him to get back out there. He’ll be around today. He’s in fantastic shape and he’s ready to go. He’s only what, 6 1/2 months and he’s already doing some things that will blow your mind away.’'
2. The Bills already have a great offense with a ton of weapons, and they might be looking for more. According to Josina Anderson, the Bills are looking to add at tight end and could be interested in Zach Ertz. Didn't realize old friend Jacob Holllister landed there in the offseason.
3. It's become almost an annual tradition around here to dump on N'Keal Harry and the criticisms have been warranted. But just wanted to point out that some of the reports from last week, that Harry struggled in practice and hasn't shown much ... I disagree. Look, he's not a burner down the field or anything, but Harry did open my eyes with some explosion he showed after the catch. He's another guy to watch this week, not that I'm expecting a big leap or anything.
4. Jets second-round receiver Elijah Moore has been the talk of the offseason down in New York. The Ole Miss product was thought to be a good fit for the Patriots as well at slot.
5. Packers CEO Mark Murphy really stepped in it this week when he referred to Aaron Rodgers as a "complicated fella." Expect this to get ugly. I don't think Rodgers ever reports to the Packers, and I don't think the Packers will be open to trading him. Rodgers could sit ... for a while.
