FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The pads came on for the first time this summer at Patriots training camp. Naturally, this mile marker signals a ramping up of the intensity during practice, but Monday's session was headlined by what also seems to be a ramping up of intensity from Matthew Judon.
After an opening week that featured the star pass rusher reporting to camp and speaking candidly about his current contract situation, it appears Judon may be holding in at this juncture of camp. The 31-year-old did not participate in the opening padded practice of the summer and appeared to be -- for lack of a better word -- sulking at times. Judon was present at the start of practice, donning a red sweatshirt and blue sweatpants but no pads or helmet.
As players went through individual drills, Judon could be seen sitting on a trash barrel where he had an extended talk with first-year head coach Jerod Mayo. Following an animated discussion, Judon could then be seen walking off the field. The veteran would later reappear and could be seen speaking with executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and director of player personnel Matt Groh. After talking with them, Judon again left the field and did not return for the rest of the day.
Judon is entering the final year of his contract and is set to earn $6.5 million in base salary. He has noted his desire to get a new deal done but did acknowledge last week that he would play on his current contract if that's ultimately the decision from the front office.
This offseason, the Patriots had made it a point of emphasis to re-sign several in-house free agents. Judon has been on the outside looking in on that spending spree, and it appears like he may be reaching a breaking point.
From here, it will be fascinating to see how this situation develops. Remember, this is a first-year head coach and a first-year front office lead in the aftermath of Bill Belichick's departure, so this is an initial test of this new regime's ability to hold its ground.
Here are some other news and notes from Monday's practice:
Agent Drew Rosenhaus on hand
There was one notable attendee during Monday's practice: NFL agent Drew Rosenhaus. Among the many players he represents throughout the NFL is Patriots defensive lineman Davon Godchaux, who has been vocal about wanting a new contract as he enters the final year of his current deal. Rosenhaus was seen speaking with director of player personnel Matt Groh and executive vice president of football business and senior advisor to the head coach Robyn Glaser in the friends and family tent during practice. After the session concluded, Rosenhaus, Godchaux, and head coach Jerod Mayo had an extended conversation near the entrance of the practice field.
Could a new deal for Godchaux be in the works? Is that what may have caused the Judon situation to devolve? Those were some of the questions murmured about in the media tent.
Rough day for Drake Maye
As Mayo noted, it's not going to be a consistent uptick for Drake Maye throughout training camp. There will be good days and there will be bad days, but the hope is that the overall trajectory moves up and to the right. That being said, it was not a good day for the No. 3 overall pick. During competitive periods, Maye struggled to get into a rhythm. By my count, he completed three of his 11 pass attempts, which included a couple of sacks and an interception by Kyle Dugger during 7-on-7s. Yes, there were roughly three incompletions that could've been considered drops, but it was still not the most consistent day for Maye in his first padded practice in the NFL.
As for Jacoby Brissett, I marked him completing 13 of his 16 attempts as he looks to cement himself as the clear-cut QB1 to begin the regular season. Meanwhile, Joe Milton III and Bailey Zappe continued to work in limited fashion behind those two.
Not a ton of physicality
With it being the first padded practice, there was hope for a little bit more physicality and energy than there was on Monday. Sure, the running game was much more of a factor with there being live hits, and there were some entertaining drills between the offensive and defensive lines, but the competitive 7s and 11s periods were lacking in that department for the most part. Mayo may have decided to ease New England into this period of camp and not gone full-throttle with practice.
Pre-snap penalties
One of the things I've noticed throughout camp is New England's struggles pre-snap. At times, the Patriots have had difficulties breaking the huddle, and Monday's session revealed a number of pre-snap penalties. At one point, Mayo sent the entire offense for a lap because of the handful of infractions.
"Just lock in on the details," tight end Austin Hooper said after practice. "The stuff that we're messing up that you guys saw requires no talent. Just a bunch of buys playing together and being mentally locked in. The pads are on so everyone is ready to hit, hit, hit, but you've got to calm your mind a little bit and remember the details."
Josh Uche tossed from practice
Just as I note that there wasn't a ton of physicality, there was a small skirmish between pass rusher Josh Uche and offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor during a rep in competitive drills. The scuffle resulted in Uche being tossed from practice for the remainder of the day.
Javon Baker continues to impress
For the second time during camp, Javon Baker had the play of the day. On Monday, Baker hauled in a deep ball from Jacoby Brissett by beating two defenders to make a leaping reception that drew a massive reaction from the fans in attendance. That was after the fourth-round pick out of UCF had a tremendous over-the-head catch on Sunday. The rookie wideout has been stacking solid days on top of one another so far.
Bake brings it down 👀@JBrissett12 | @Javondbaker1 pic.twitter.com/O33I7TSmSu
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) July 29, 2024
Jabrill Peppers banged up
It appears safety Jabrill Peppers, who just signed a three-year, $30 million extension last week, may have suffered a lower body injury in practice. The veteran was seen walking into the training area to get looked at by the medical team. He then made a brief return to the field and tried to play through it during an individual drill period, but then subbed himself out and walked back to the training area. I did not spot him for the rest of the day.
Caedan Wallace emerging on left side
Rookie Caedan Wallace has consistently been working as New England's starting left tackle in recent practices, and that carried over into this fully padded session on Monday. On top of simply holding that position, Wallace was borderline dominant during one-on-one drills, which is an encouraging sign for the line as a whole.
Throughout the summer, Mayo has talked about getting the five best buys out there along the offensive line. On Monday, he noted that it's the team's hope that "going into the third preseason game, we have a good understanding of who those five will be."
Attendance
Starting center David Andrews was missing from Monday's practice along with Christian Barmore, who was recently diagnosed with blood clots and ruled out indefinitely. Andrews' absence is unclear and Nick Leverett stepped in at center with the first team. Meanwhile, Marte Mapu was present but did not participate, nor did Judon as we noted above. Defensive back Shaun Wade was limited as he donned a red non-contact jersey.
