Patriots Training Camp 2019 - What You Need to Know
Joe Calabro, GoLocalProv Sports Team
Patriots Training Camp 2019 - What You Need to Know
The New England Patriots are set to open training camp on Thursday morning, July 25, at the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium.
"It's very exciting. This is the start of football season. Getting the guys back together. We're trying to build something special as a group. Doing the conditioning test and seeing how in-shape everybody is – this is really just the beginning of everything. Starting from OTAs until now, it’s time to put the work in," said running back James White during his press conference on Wednesday.
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The Patriots won the Super Bowl over the LA Rams last season, but face many questions entering camp.
"We have a lot of different types of players on our team. Some guys that have been here before, some that are new, some that have been with other teams in the league and are at various stages of experience. We're excited to work with all of them and excited to see how it all comes together," said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick during his press conference on Wednesday.
Patriots Off-Season
Entering camp, one of the biggest holes that the Patriots have to fill is the one left by tight end Rob Gronkowski.
Gronkowski announced his retirement a couple of months after the Super Bowl victory, completing a ten-year career.
"There's only one Gronk [Rob Gronkowski]. You can't replace that personality. He's a great football player but you've got to play with who's out here," added White.
To try and fill the void, the Patriots brought Ben Watson out of retirement, and have Matt LaCosse, Stephen Anderson, Ryan Izzo and Andrew Beck on the roster.
Another big question the Patriots have entering camp revolves around the left tackle position.
Following Trent Brown's departure in free agency, second-year player Isaiah Wynn is the “favorite” to get the job. However, Wynn missed all of his rookie season with an injury.
"We'll see where everybody is. That's part of the start of training camp is to evaluate everybody's physical condition, especially the players that didn't participate last year or that are new to the team that are dealing with some type of condition, let's call it. I don't know. We'll see how it all goes," said Belichick when asked about Wynn.
The backup quarterback position, rookie running back Damien Harris and linebacker Jamie Collins will also be focuses of training camp.
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Patriots Training Camp 2019 - What You Need to Know
Training Camp Schedule
Gates will open one hour before practice and close one hour after practice ends.
The practice schedule is subject to change at any time.
The schedule is as follows:
- July 25: 8 AM Gates Open; Practice begins at 9:15 AM* (approx.)
- July 26: 8 AM Gates Open; Practice begins at 9:15 AM* (approx.)
- July 27: 8 AM Gates Open; Practice begins at 9:15 AM* (approx.)
- July 28: Practice TBA
- July 29: Patriots Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at 4:30 PM
- July 30: No Practice
- July 31: Practice TBA
- August 1: Practice TBA
PHOTO: Matteo Fini/Flickr Commons
News and Notes
No Contract for Brady
Tom Brady, who will turn 42 in August, enters training camp with one year left on his contract.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, there is “no deal on the horizon right now.”
"I'm not going to talk about player contracts or any other contracts for that matter," said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick during his press conference on Wednesday.
Earlier this offseason, the Patriots gave wide receiver Julian Edelman a contract extension. It was widely thought that an extension for Brady would follow soon after.
Brady has never played a season in the final year of his deal.
Last August, the Patriots revised Brady’s contract by adding $1 million in incentives in five different categories.
He did not reach any of the incentives last season.
Edelman to Miss 3 Weeks
Edelman will miss the first three weeks of training camp with a thumb injury, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
“Julian Edelman’s thumb injury is described as “mild trauma” and should keep him out for just a few weeks,” writes Rapoport on Twitter.
If Edelman is out for a full three weeks, he will miss the Patriots first preseason game against the Detroit Lions on August 8.
Edelman’s injury will open up opportunities for rookie N’Keal Harry, second-year player Braxton Berrios, and free-agent signee Dontrelle Inman.
PUP List
According to the NFL’s transaction wire, six Patriots players were placed on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list to start camp.
Those players include tackle Cole Croston, defensive back Nate Ebner, running back Sony Michel, wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, defensive back Ken Webster and defensive end Deatrich Wise.
Players who open camp on the active PUP list are the only ones eligible to open the season on the reserve PUP list, which would eliminate them from at least the first six weeks of the season.
PHOTO: GoLocalProv/Joe Calabro
Who is Gone
Rob Gronkowski
Tight end Rob Gronkowski announced that he was retiring after ten seasons in the NFL, all with the Patriots.
"Obviously, a huge part of the organization for nine years. I got to come in here with him as a rookie and go through a lot together, but we'll see how it goes. I think that's the thing in football – the one thing that's consistent is change. We all know it's going to happen," said Patriots safety Devin McCourty on Wednesday.
In 115 career games, Gronkowski has hauled in 521 receptions for 7,861 yards and 79 touchdowns.
Last season, Gronkowski had 47 catches for 682 yards and three touchdowns.
Chris Hogan
Hogan left the Patriots in the offseason and signed with the Carolina Panthers.
With New England, Hogan played 40 games and hauled in 107 catches for 1,651 yards and 12 touchdowns.
He helped the Patriots win two Super Bowls.
Trey Flowers
Flowers left the Patriots for the Detroit Lions in free agency.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Lions place Flowers on the physically unable to perform list to start camp.
Flowers helped the Patriots win two Super Bowls while racking up a career-high 7.5 sacks and three forced fumbles in 2018.
Trent Brown
Left tackle Trent Brown left the Patriots after one season to sign a four-year $66 million deal with the Oakland Raiders in free agency.
Brown was critical to the Patriots winning the Super Bowl last season once Isaiah Wynn got injured.
Coaching Changes
The Patriots lost five assistant coaches in the offseason, most notable, defensive play-caller Brian Flores.
"I mean, it's the National Football League. There are changes on every team every year. Every team changes players, and I'd imagine every team in the league has had staff changes. We've had staff changes almost every year – I would say every year – I can't think of one that we didn't have one," said Belichick.
Brian Flores left the Patriots to take the head coaching job with the Miami Dolphins, after coaching the Patriots defense last season.
New England named former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano as defensive coordinator, but he announced his retirement about a month later.
It appears Bill Belichick will be taking over defensive coordinator duties.
2019 Coaching Staff
The Patriots coaching staff is as follows:
Head coach- Bill Belichick
Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks- Josh McDaniels
Assistant quarterbacks- Mick Lombardi
Running backs- Ivan Fears
Assistant running backs- Cole Popovich
Wide receivers (also special teams coordinator)- Joe Judge
Tight ends- Nick Caley
Offensive line- Dante Scarnecchia
Defensive line- Bret Bielema
Director of skill development- Joe Kim
Outside linebackers- DeMarcus Covington
Inside linebackers- Jerod Mayo
Cornerbacks- Mike Pellegrino
Secondary, safeties- Steve Belichick
Special teams coordinator (also wide receivers)- Joe Judge
Assistant special teams- Cam Achord
Coaching assistant- Brian Belichick
Coaching assistant- Carmen Bricillo
Coaching assistant- Bob Fraser
Newcomers Via Free Agency/ Trades
Michael Bennett
Defensive end Michael Bennett came to the Patriots via a trade from the Philadelphia Eagles in the offseason.
Last year with Philadelphia, Bennett recorded nine sacks and 25 tackles in 16 games.
In his career, Bennett has recorded 63 sacks and 240 tackles, as well as, 13 forced fumbles in 141 games.
Jamie Collins
Just over two years after the Patriots traded Collins to Cleveland, he returned to New England in free agency this offseason on a one-year deal.
Collins started 16 games for the Browns last season and ranked as the 58th best linebacker in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.
During mini-camp, Collins saw time with the first-team defense and showed up for voluntary OTAs.
Ben Watson
Tight end Ben Watson initially retired following the 2018 season, but came out of retirement to return to the Patriots.
Watson was initially drafted by the Patriots prior to the 2004 season.
However, he will have to wait to make his debut after he was suspended for the first four games due to PED use.
Last season with New Orleans, Watson played in 16 games and hauled in 35 catches for 400 yards with two touchdowns.
In his career, Watson has caught 530 passes for 5,885 yards and 44 touchdowns.
Demaryius Thomas
The Patriots signed former Denver Broncos and Houston Texans receiver Demaryius Thomas to a one-year deal back in April, as GoLocalProv reported.
In 15 games last season with the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans, Thomas recorded 677 yards and five touchdowns.
However, Thomas suffered a torn Achilles in week 16 and his availability at the start of the regular season could be questionable.
In his career, Thomas has hauled in 688 catches for 9,330 yards and 62 touchdowns, including seven catches for 60 yards to help the Denver Broncos win the Super Bowl in 2015.
Lance Kendricks
On Wednesday, the Patriots signed tight end Lance Kendricks to a one-year deal.
Kendricks, 32, spent the last two seasons with the Green Bay Packers. In 2018, he hauled in 19 passes for 170 yards and one touchdown.
He spent the previous six seasons with the Rams.
PHOTO: Jeffrey Beall/Wikipedia
Rookies to Watch
N’Keal Harry
On the offensive side of the ball, Harry will be the player to focus on in training camp.
New England selected Harry out of Arizona State with the 32nd overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Earlier this offseason, Harry worked out with Tom Brady and Julien Edelman.
At Arizona State, Harry hauled in 73 catches for 1,088 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
In three years at Arizona State, he had caught 22 touchdown passes and have over 1,000 yards receiving in each of the last two seasons.
Chase Winovich
Winovich is a defensive end out of Michigan who the Patriots selected with the 77th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Winovich is listed as 6’3” 255 pounds.
With the Wolverines in 2018, Winovich recorded five sacks and 59 tackles, 15.5 of them were for a loss.
“He has been productive rushing the passer, he has a good motor, he is a pretty instinctive guy, good with his hands and pretty good technique,” said Patriots Director of Player Personel Nick Caserio after the pick.
Damien Harris
The Patriots selected Alabama running back Damien Harris with the 87th overall pick in the 2019 draft.
Harris will see plenty of reps in training camp with Sony Michel starting camp on the PUP list.
“He falls into the good football player category that has been consistently productive over the course of however many years. Everyone knows what we think of the Alabama program, the mutual respect that Bill and Nick have for each other, but this is a player that over the course of the last three years has averaged 1,000 yards in the SEC and they have a lot of good backs,” said Caserio after the pick.
With Alabama in 2018, Harris recorded 876 yards and nine touchdowns out of the backfield.
He also tallied 204 receiving yards.
Jarrett Stidham
Could Stidham be the heir apparent to Tom Brady?
Stidham was selected 133rd overall by the Patriots in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Auburn.
In his final year at Auburn, Stidham threw for 2,794 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions for a completion percentage of 60.7.
“He is a pretty productive player, the system is probably a little bit different then what he is going to play in here, but, really smart kid, we had a number of interactions with him along the way. Smart kid, protects the football, pretty good arm strength, fairly athletic, he isn’t a running quarterback, but has those skills. He will certainly be competitive with the other players we have at that position,” said Caserio in his post-draft press conference.
Stidham joins Brady, Brian Hoyer and 2018 draft pick Danny Etling on the quarterback depth chart.
PHOTO: Arizona State Athletics
Weaknesses
Left Tackle
With Trent Brown leaving for Oakland this offseason, and Jared Veldheer’s sudden retirement just before OTAs began, the Patriots are left with Isaiah Wynn and Cole Croston on the depth chart at left tackle.
Wynn was the Patriots 23rd overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of the University of Georgia, but missed all of last season after tearing his Achilles in the preseason.
He took part in individual drills during minicamp in June, but was held out of team sessions.
He also took part in OTAs.
If Wynn can’t hold up at left tackle, there isn’t much behind him.
Croston was signed by the Patriots in 2017 and played in just three games that season.
In 2018, he was signed to the practice squad and played in just two games.
Rookie Yodny Cajuste is listed as third on the Patriots depth chart.
New England drafted him with the 101st overall pick in the 2019 draft out of West Virginia.
Tight End
With the retirement of Rob Gronkowski after ten seasons and Dwayne Allen moving on, the tight end position will look much different this season.
"You've got to play with who's out here. We have a lot of talented guys in this locker room but you've got to put the work in. Everybody finds their roles. We have a great offensive coordinator. They'll put people in the right place and see if we can go out there and succeed," running back James White said during his press conference on Wednesday.
To fill Gronkowski’s role, the Patriots brought back Ben Watson.
Watson initially retired after playing last season with the New Orleans Saints, but decided to come out of retirement and rejoin the Patriots.
However, Watson will be suspended for the first four weeks of the season due to PED use.
Other tight ends on the Patriots depth chart include Matt LaCosse, Stephen Anderson, Ryan Izzo, and Andrew Beck and most recently Lance Kendricks.
How will the Patriots offense morph without Gronkowski?
PHOTO: University of Georgia Athletics
Patriots Odds to Win Super Bowl
The Patriots are coming off their sixth Super Bowl title in the Brady-Belichick era and are one of the favorites to win another one.
According to the Westgate Las Vegas Super Book, the Patriots are 6-1 favorites to win the championship along with the Kansas City Chiefs.
The LA Rams and New Orleans Saints are both 8-1 odds.
The Indianapolis Colts round out the top five favorites at 12-1.
