Patriots Minicamp Day 1 Recap: Gronk Was Gronk, Brady Was Brady, And Kenny Britt Gets Hurt
BOSTON (CBS) -- It was a full house in Foxboro on Tuesday, both in terms of Patriots players and reporters covering the early June practice session.
That's due to the first action of the offseason for both quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski, who were present and participating in the late-morning session on the practice fields next to Gillette Stadium.
Here are all the bits of news and analysis from the practice session, which went for about two hours and was open to the media.
Early Arrivals
The first players on the field were both newcomers: defensive lineman Adrian Clayborn and wide receiver Jordan Matthews.
First on the field today: Adrian Clayborn, followed closely by Jordan Matthews. pic.twitter.com/K0EkcsSjef
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) June 5, 2018
It always helps to be a little early.
As for the quarterback position, it was young Danny Etling getting out there first. Tom Brady's roster spot is likely not in jeopardy, though.
The first quarterback on the field this morning is ... Danny Etling.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) June 5, 2018
Brady Showed Up
As you no doubt have heard by now, Tom Brady made his offseason debut.
Tom Brady has arrived for practice at minicamp - #Patriots #WBZ pic.twitter.com/0Z0gojHy2w
— Dan Roche (@RochieWBZ) June 5, 2018
???? #Patriots appear to have added a quarterback for minicamp #WBZ pic.twitter.com/cswoKEo3MN
— Joe Giza (@JoeGiza) June 5, 2018
So Did Gronk
Yup. No. 87 was in attendance as well.
.@RobGronkowski out for practice at #Patriots mandatory minicamp - #WBZ pic.twitter.com/FPrTgl2XLg
— Dan Roche (@RochieWBZ) June 5, 2018
???? @RobGronkowski gronking it up at #Patriots minicamp today #WBZ pic.twitter.com/GIr1v2Yb8A
— Joe Giza (@JoeGiza) June 5, 2018
But Malcolm Mitchell Did Not
In what has to be considered a concern at this point of the year, Malcolm Mitchell was again absent from the practice session.
Still no Malcolm Mitchell. Reporters have not seen him this far during OTAs. He was photographed by the team as a participant in the first session.
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) June 5, 2018
Mitchell missed all of last season due to a knee injury, and the fact that he's missing practice time this spring could mean that he's not recovering properly.
Brady Was Good!
The Athletic's Jeff Howe is always good for logging practice stats, and he had Brady having a rather fine day passing the football.
Brady completed 21 of 25 passes in team drills, took the first reps in all but one period and threw his first pass of the day to Gronk in the walkthrough period. Brady completed 14 of 15 to close practice and the incompletion was a McCarron drop.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) June 5, 2018
Brady missed on a deep ball to Kenny Britt and was quite agitated with himself. Otherwise, pretty damn sharp
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) June 5, 2018
Tom Brady was first up in all team periods. Highlight reel throw of the day was a deep pass down the left sideline to Kenny Britt with Eric Rowe trailing in coverage.
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) June 5, 2018
Gronk Was Gronk
Gronkowski was more than just present for the practice. He was very much acting like himself.
Rob Gronkowski was also heavily involved in team periods and worked with both Brady and Brian Hoyer. Gronkowski's highlight was a deep touchdown from Hoyer. Well-placed pass over Demarcus Travis and Jordan Richards.
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) June 5, 2018
Same old Gronk. He made a long reception and showboated a little after. 1-on-1 drill. High stepping.
— Henry Coffey McKenna (@McKennAnalysis) June 5, 2018
Guests
Bill Belichick loves to open his doors to fellow coaches, and Tuesday was no different. Several members of Iowa's coaching staff were on hand for the session.
Coaches from Iowa football are here at Patriots minicamp. Also, about 100 media members.
— Kevin Duffy (@KevinRDuffy) June 5, 2018
Several members of the Iowa coaching staff are here today. Adrian Clayborn, one of five ex-Hawkeyes on the Pats' roster, stopped to chat with them before practice. pic.twitter.com/L43HKHIESQ
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) June 5, 2018
Bunch of Iowa coaches, including offensive coordinator (and ex-Patriot assistant) Brian Ferentz, out at New England's minicamp today.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) June 5, 2018
Kenny Britt Tweaked A Hamstring
The battle at receiver will be an interesting one this spring and summer, and Kenny Britt had himself a decent day. That was, until he apparently suffered some sort of injury.
Kenny Britt toasted Rowe on a deep ball. Looked great, but appeared to suffer an injury later in practice. Did not participate toward end.
— Kevin Duffy (@KevinRDuffy) June 5, 2018
Britt was limping around the sideline as practice wrapped up.
— Kevin Duffy (@KevinRDuffy) June 5, 2018
Kenny Britt, who flashed today working with Tom Brady and looks in peak physical condition, could be limited the rest of camp after pulling up (hamstring). But it isn't viewed as anything overly serious.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) June 5, 2018
Belichick Was Belichick
The coach appeared to be in a pretty good mood when he met with the media before the practice session, but that doesn't mean he was going to let a false start slide.
Brady was behind center when several offensive players false started in a team period midway through practice. Belichick sent the entire offense for a lap.
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) June 5, 2018
Belichick sent the whole team on a lap after a false start/offsides during 11s. Used some colorful language.
— Kevin Duffy (@KevinRDuffy) June 5, 2018
Rookie Cornerback J.C. Jackson Got A Look
The assumed starters at cornerback are Stephon Gilmore and Jason McCourty, but an undrafted rookie was getting some good run on Tuesday.
JC Jackson started opposite of Gilmore again
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) June 5, 2018
O-Line Preview
Everybody's waiting to see how exactly Belichick and Dante Scarnecchia sort out their offensive line. In this session at least, it was massive newcomer Trent Brown working at left tackle, with first-round pick Isaiah Wynn working at left guard, according to Henry McKenna. It's still too early to say that's what the left side of the line will look like, as left guard Joe Thuney was absent and right tackle Marcus Cannon was limited in his action.