Patriots training camp observations: Jack Jones exits, Chad Ryland shines

FOXBORO – Focus on an entertaining and competitive Patriots practice was hijacked by a “Bye, Jack…” on Thursday.

Second-year corner Jack Jones left practice in a huff soon after a contested rep against wide receiver Kendrick Bourne during 11-on-11 work. The play happened at the far end of the field and near the sideline so it was hard for media to tell what caused the hubbub. It seemed like a benign sliding catch on a throw from Bailey Zappe with Jones in coverage. But Jones rose, peeled off the gloves the defensive backs were wearing to prevent too much clutching, and began walking away from the field.

Teammate Shaun Wade first tried to slow Jones down. He was shrugged off. Then safety Jabrill Peppers walked several steps with his arm around Jones’ shoulders before Jones exited the field.

About 20 minutes later, Jones returned. He spoke to director of player personnel Matt Groh then had a long conversation with corner Jalen Mills. He remained a couple of steps back from the sideline for the remainder of practice. Jones was the last player to take the practice field as well, emerging after the team had begun stretching.

Jones is facing a court date Aug. 18 that has his availability for the upcoming season under some doubt. But he’s played well in camp while running with both the starters and second-teamers. We’ll see what – if any – public reaction Bill Belichick has to Jones’ departure. But given the swirl around Jones currently and the team’s need for consistent and dependable performance from him, checking out of practice raises further questions.

The Jones sideshow didn’t completely overshadow a productive practice that was highlighted late by the work of rookie kicker Chad Ryland, who was automatic on field goals after hooking one into the lumberyard earlier in the week.

What they wore

The Patriots were in full pads for the third time this camp. This was their eighth practice. The team has its in-stadium practice for season-ticket holders Friday night. They have Saturday off and then are back on the field Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Those will be the last practices fans can attend, as the following two weeks the team will be in Green Bay and Tennessee for joint practices.

Attendance

Cole Strange, Terez Hall and Ty Montgomery were again unavailable as they come back from camp injuries. Strange and Montgomery came out together around 10:30 a.m. Trent Brown, Tyquan Thornton and Matt Judon were all limited once again. Rhamondre Stevenson returned to full duty.

Mike Onwenu, Cody Davis and Calvin Anderson remain on unavailable as they’ve been throughout camp.

What they did

The competitive portion of practice began with 1-on-1s during which Demario Douglas was again a tiny, little, waterbugging beast. In a 1-on-1 tackling drill, Douglas sidestepped defenders on three different reps.  

In the 1-on-1 passing drills, Christian Gonzalez had his hands full on a few reps. Rookie Malik Cunningham beat him twice.

There was a ton of 11-on-11 work, some more intense hurry-up work after Wednesday's half-speed work, some short-field punting sessions and a host of field goal work with rookie Chad Ryland having a stellar morning.

Of particular note

• The best play of the day for the offense was a red-zone throw on the sideline from Mac Jones to Kendrick Bourne on the left sideline, as Bourne beat Gonzalez with a toe-tap, full-extension play on the sidelines.
• Jones also had a long completion to last year’s minicamp darling Tre Nixon on a perfectly-placed ball. Nixon’s had a pair of good practices back-to-back after fading to the background a bit. The younger receivers like Douglas and rookie Kayshon Boutte have been more prominent than Nixon and, troublingly, second-year second-rounder Tyquan Thornton.
• While Bailey Zappe took reps with the Patriots first-team wideouts (behind the second-team OL) and Jones threw to the backup wideouts, the notion that there’s a quarterback competition remains a fantasy. Jones’ performance so far in camp, his offseason work, the owner’s support, the fact he’s the one out at dinner recruiting Ezekiel Elliott and teammates’ commentary on him being the “leader” of the offense should all be enough to drive a stake through the heart of that conversation. It hasn’t. But it should have.
• In the first 11-on-11 rep, Jones hit tight end Matt Sokol on a little in-cut but Ja’Whaun Bentley forced a fumble that was eventually recovered by the offense.
• Jones – who was on-point Thursday but a tad less efficient than Wednesday – was picked by Kyle Dugger on a throw delivered late to Nixon. He also had a throw toward Douglas broken up in heavy coverage.
• Zappe got picked in the end zone by Adrian Phillips on about a 20-yard throw. He didn’t seem to see the safety lurking. Zappe’s also been under duress behind the backup line quite a bit.
• Smith-Schuster and Parker keep stacking productive days with Jones.
• Parker nearly came up with a circus catch during the hurry-up offense but it was broken up by rookie Isaiah Bolden who was in because of Jack Jones’ unavailability.
• Mac Jones, DeVante Parker and rookies Christian Gonzalez and Malik Cunningham were among those speaking to the media after practice.