Bedard: Patriots Practice Report 08.15.26 - Gonzalez next up for extension, RZ passing game a plus, Dre'Mont Jones injured

FOXBOROUGH — Practice No. 15 is in the books; let's run down all you need to know, including stats, 1-on-1s, lineup adjustments and observations:

FOUR THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Witherspoon gets extension to set stage for Gonzalez: In case you just woke up from a coma, you know that Christian Gonzalez's contract extension with the Patriots was being held up by Devon Witherspoon and the Seahawks because both corners are represented by the same agent. Well, Witherspoon got his four-year extension on Saturday, and it's a whopper. Mike Florio from PFT has all the details. The headlines: $101.255 million guaranteed for injury. The four new years average $33 million per year. Average from signing (6 years): $26.38 million.

It wasn't so much the new money after Witherspoon's fourth and fifth year that I was worried about — you have to pay the freight, and it will look like a bargain down the line as the cap goes up.

The key from the Patriots' perspective was how much of a raise Witherspoon was going to get in the fourth and fifth years of his existing contract. As opposed to Sauce Gardner or Patrick Surtain, Witherspoon got the Derek Stingley Jr. framework that pays him big now. Witherspoon, the 5th overall pick in 2023, was scheduled to make $26 million in 2026 and '27. He's now getting $59.255 million.

The Patriots have not traditionally done their extensions like that. I figured they would want to do something similar to Surtain for Gonzalez, who was the 17th overall pick in the '23 draft. Gonzalez was scheduled to make $21 million over the next two years. Are the Patriots going to give him a raise to $60 million to top Witherspoon? This is the key question. The cash for the next two seasons has been a primary focus in the negotiations.

Another: Should Gonzalez be paid more than Witherspoon? They both have one 2nd-team All-Pro nod, but Witherspoon has been voted to two more Pro Bowls, and is a Super Bowl champion. If Gonzalez is fine coming in under Witherspoon, the deal should be wrapped up quickly. If Gonzalez is determined to top the Witherspoon deal — and, additionally, by a lot — then this could take a while.

The initial indication I got from the Patriots was positive. I didn't sense any frustration over Witherspoon's deal. But we shall see.

Dre'Mont Jones leaves practice: The Patriots, already thin on the edge, lost their one starter who has actually been on the practice field, Dre'Mont Jones, midway through the session. Jones lost his initial 1-on-1 to Will Campbell, then didn't rep in the rematch. He did go against Caleb Lomu in the next set, but didn't look right as he lost easily. After that, he apparently left the field because he was not seen during the team drills. Gabe Jacas took his place and looked to have a good run.

According to a source, the injury was minor, and Jones is expected to take part in the walkthrough on Sunday and to be in pads on Monday.

Should also point out that Harold Landry was again spotted working out on the side. This time, he was running hills. So, that's progress.

Drake Maye, passing offense catches fire in the red zone: After another slow start (0 for 2), Maye and his receivers were red hot to finish practice. They completed 10 of 14 passes between three red-zone drives and two two-minute drills with seven touchdowns. Romeo Doubs, who has been coming on as he's gotten more comfortable, A.J. Brown and Hunter Henry each caught two from Maye, while Mack Hollins chipped in one (he had another from Tommy DeVito, as did Kyle Williams.

I will point out that I don't think the defense was quite going at top speed in these drills. It was more like 2/3rds speed from them.

Patriots add two to the interior offensive line: Mike Vrabel said Ben Brown will be out 4-6 weeks after leaving the preseason game after getting leg-whipped, and the team had to place top guard backup (for them at least) Andrew Rupcich on IR. The Patriots signed first-year OL Darrian Dalcourt (played center in practice) and first-year OL Joe Michalski (played guard).

Dalcourt, 25, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Baltimore Ravens in 2024 out of Alabama. The 6-foot-3, 309-pounder, spent the 2024 season on the Baltimore practice squad. After being released by Baltimore at the end of training camp in 2025, Dalcourt spent time on the practice squads of the Washington Commanders, Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns.

Michalski, 25, entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Denver Broncos out of Oklahoma State in 2025. The 6-foot-4, 303-pounder, spent the 2025 season on the Denver practice squad. He played in 59 games with 35 starts during his college career at both center and guard.

TAKING ATTENDANCE

Physically unable to perform list: DE Harold Landry.
Non-football injury list: S Brendan Schooler
Red non-contact jerseys: QBs, CB Charles Woods.
Returned to practice: LS Julian Ashby, CB Charles Woods.
Full participants: CB Carlton Davis (hamstring).
Out: CB Christian Gonzalez, DT Christian Barmore, C Ben Brown, WR Kobe Prentice, S Eric Butler, LS Niko Lalos, DE Xavier Holmes, G Andrew Rupcich.
Limited: None.
New injuries: DE Dre'Mont Jones.

DRESS CODE

Full pads (9th day).

LENGTH OF PRACTICE

2 hours under mostly sunny skies.

QB STATS

Drake Maye: 10 of 16, 7 TDs
Tommy DeVito: 5 of 11, 2 TDs, sack
Behren Morton: None.

IMPACT PLAYS IN TEAM PERIODS

Fumbles: Efton Chism.
Drops: AJ Brown.
Pass breakups: Karon Prunty
Interceptions: None.
Run stuffs (4): Gabe Jacas 2, KJ Britt, Namdi Obiazor, Khalil Jacobs
Pressures/sacks (2): Gabe Jacas, Quintayvious Hutchins, Khalil Jacobs, Amari Gainer, Leonard Taylor (Mehki Butler).

PASS RUSH ONE-ON-ONES

Decisive bouts:

• Casey Rogers dusted JonDarius Morgan easily.

• Cory Durden pushed Jared Wilson right back into the QB. That doesn't happen very often.

• DT Jeremiah Pharms showed how good his pass rush is (3-0 today, had a great preseason game) by easily beating Demetrious Crownover around the edge.

Note:

• Caleb Lomu's 3-0 record has a bit of an asterisk. His first rep against Swinson was very close; it could have been a draw. His second could have been holding, as he got high on Jacas. And his third rep was against Jones, who had no pop, and he immediately left practice.

7-ON-7s FROM GIARDI

Low red area 7-on-7 (Giardi)

(Maye)

• Misses Pop Douglas open on a quick out (Craig Woodson)
• Doubs beats Carlton Davis to the back corner of the end zone and toe-taps to complete the catch on a well-thrown ball.
• High and incomplete to Hunter Henry breaking toward the post. He had A.J. Brown wide open on a crosser.
• Efton Chism can’t reel in a low throw on a return route. Marcus Jones was all over him.
• Brown can’t complete the catch on a quick out after beating Karon Prunty. He should have. That’s a drop.

(DeVito)

• Henry open in the left flat. Linebacker Riley Wilson was closest in coverage, but not that close.
• Kyle Williams makes the catch on the back endline, beating safety Dell Pettus.
• Quick inside release by Henry goes for an easy TD.
• Chism gets open on a scramble drill, but DeVito held the ball too long. I would have ruled it a sack.

(Morton)

• Nick DeGennaro on an underneath route. No one close.
• Great diving catch by Jack Westover on a crossing route down by the goal line. Safety Mike Brown was hanging on his back.
• Scramble and a throwaway.

TOP PLAYS

It was the Doubs show. Take it from Giardi: "During 7-on-7s, he beat Carlton Davis to the back corner of the end zone and toe-tapped to get his feet in bounds on a perfectly arced ball from Drake Maye. That theme continued in 11-on-11s. Doubs leaped over Charles Woods to cap a one-minute drill with a touchdown, then, on the next series, he Moss’d Woods, cleanly climbing the CB’s back and plucking the ball out of the defender’s hands."

FOUR UP

WR Romeo Doubs: After a slow start in a new offense, Doubs has really started to come on. He had a couple of standout catches today.

"I think that showed up in some practices that you saw," Vrabel said. "It’s just figuring out what they do best, seeing what you can realistically improve, and then put them in those spots to help build their own confidence, and then also a place where they can help the football team."

Gabe Jacas in team drills: As opposed to his performance in 1-on-1s and the preseason game, Jacas stepped into the starting lineup for Jones and looked pretty good as he gave Will Campbell some issues. Jacas was even under control, but I did think we were going to get a Hard Knocks situation when Jacas got close to Drake Maye after shoving Campbell back pretty quickly.

DT Jeremiah Pharms and OT Marcus Bryant: Two of my highest-graded players from the Colts game stayed on a heater, going undefeated in 1-on-1s.

THREE DOWN

The Patriots' running game: It absolutely smells right now. These were the runs during the red zone period, an area of the field they must be better in — stuff, stuff, stuff, a coupld yards, stuff, stuff, a few yards, 2 yards, a few yards, Stevenson TD, stuff, stuff. That's seven stuffs and one really good run in 12 attempts!! And most of that was the first team against a first-team defense without Christian Barmore, Dre'Mont Jones and Harold Landry. I mean, what the hell is going on around here?!!

Gabe Jacas in 1-on-1s: He was a brutal 1-4, and his only victory came against Lorenz Metz. 

G Alijah Vera-Tucker: Didn't look great, going 0 for 2, and was part of the run blocking issues in team. I'm lowercase c concerned with him. Pretty soon here, the rust needs to be knocked off for good.

ODDS AND ENDS

• K Andy Borregales, after scaring the bejesus out of New England and causing calls for his head after missing three kicks against the Colts, was 6 for 6 in a ramped-up pace in practice kicking through the skinny posts, which are half as wide.

• CB Carlton Davis was back practicing fully in pads for the first time since his hamstring injury. Charles Woods returned to the top spot for Gonzalez.

• Patriots ran more than a few deceptive plays in the red zone.

• The usage of RPOs seems to be ramping up.

• For anyone wondering about Mack Hollins' future after starting the preseason game with the backups, a) he is a backup, and b) he was a huge part of the starting red zone offense with his height and physicality. 

• Crazy Joe Mazzulla was at practice with his son and stepson, a BC commit out of Xaverian. I was pretty disappointed Mazzulla didn't take any 1-on-1 pass rush reps.

• Khalil Jacobs had a nice stick on RB Hassan Haskins.

• Dell Pettus continues to get a lot of Big Nickel work.

• Patriots ran a really nifty red zone play that I can't describe for fear of being tasered that got Hunter Henry uncovered in the end zone.

• Kyle Williams had a nice TD catch over Channing Canada.

SCHEDULE

Sunday: 10 a.m. walkthrough (closed to public)
Monday: 10:15 a.m. (closed to public)
Tuesday: 10:10 a.m. walkthrough (closed to public)
Wednesday: 10:15-12:15 - joint practice with Eagles
Thursday: 10:15-12:15 - joint practice with Eagles (last day of public training camp)
Friday: OFF
Saturday: 7 p.m., Eagles at Patriots
Sunday: OFF