FOXBORO — There he was. The receiver that was promised.
Not the sought-after No. 1 option, a magnet for defensive attention or touchdown machine. The established fan favorite. The steady, reliable, affable, funny even, starter whose offseason work has been hailed for months with little to show for it in training camp.
That is, until Monday.
Patriots receiver Kendrick Bourne scored and celebrated his way through practice, his best of the summer. Bourne snared a 1-handed touchdown pass from Mac Jones in one team period and beat Jack Jones for a catch during another, while inhaling every target. The timing couldn’t have been better.
Tight end Mike Gesicki went down with an upper-body injury during a 1-on-1 tackling drill early in practice and did not return. Gesicki hunched over and favored his right side as he walked off the field with members of the medical staff, indicating a possible right shoulder, arm or collarbone injury.
The injury bug also nipped outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings, who received attention after lying flat on his back for close to 30 seconds late in Bailey Zappe’s two-minute drill. But Jennings walked off the field toward the sideline, seemingly OK.
Elsewhere, Malik Cunningham took more reps at quarterback, JuJu Smith-Schuster was perfect, a backup corner made the defensive play of the day and Mac Jones’ offensive line featured two rookies.
Here are the Herald’s complete practice observations.
Absent: CB Jonathan Jones, RB Pierre Strong, RB/WR Ty Montgomery, OL Bill Murray, OL Kody Russey, DL Trey Flowers
Limited: DL Carl Davis, LB/S Marte Mapu
PUP: OL Mike Onwenu, S Cody Davis
Non-Football Injury: OT Calvin Anderson
Notes: Strange, who was limited for Sunday’s non-padded practice, did not participate Monday. He and Russey joined practice late in uniform, but watched from the sideline. Strong has been out for two straight days. Flowers again conditioned on a separate field. Davis, who left last week’s preseason opener with a leg injury, did not participate in team drills. Anderson continues to appear at practices in street clothes, but remains a non-participant.
Mac Jones had just overthrown Rhamondre Stevenson by half a country mile on the previous play, a fade to the back corner of the end zone during 11-on-11s. His next pass seemed destined to do the same
No so. Kendrick Bourne, running straight up the right seam with Myles Bryant on his hip, realized the space he had in the end zone as Jones’ pass neared. He stutter-stepped closed to the back line, shot his right arm out and plucked the ball out of the air. With both feet down, he held the ball straight out and started celebrating.
Touchdown.
Source: Patriots signing free-agent Ezekiel Elliott to 1-year contract
One of the best practices by any receiver in camp.
Bourne caught all four of his targets in team drills, operating smoothly on the perimeter and in the slot. In addition to beating Bryant and Jack Jones, Bourne bested rookie corner Isaiah Bolden and found a soft spot in zone coverage. This was the player the Patriots need.
Note: The passing stats below were tallied during competitive 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods only. The stats in parentheses represent the quarterbacks' camp-long performance.
Three sacks.
Not only did Uche reset his personal best for a single training camp practice, he earned more sacks than any Patriots defender has this summer. Uche was unblockable, particularly off the left edge where he worked against Trent Brown and backup Andrew Stueber. He's been one of the six best players in all of camp.
Like Bourne, Smith-Schuster went 4-for-4 on targets in team drills. He beat Myles Bryant on a go route down the left sideline, caught two passes against zone and one more over the middle in traffic. Most importantly, his chemistry with Mac Jones continues to build.
Woof.
Andrews was the center on two bad snaps, one of which missed his target while the other suffered from bad timing. It's unclear if the latter was his fault, but Andrews seemed frustrated afterward, considering it was his second bad snap in as many team periods. The fourth-round rookie still projects as the Pats' backup center despite his poor practice.
He took six (probable) sacks in team drills. He threw an interception on a blanketed running back screen that cornerback Shaun Wade revived when he picked off Zappe's errant pass. And Zappe hardly inspired over his 2-minute drill, which ended with a sack, throwaway, completion to Kayshon Boutte and hand-off to J.J. Taylor.
