The New England Patriots had their 10th training camp practice and their second joint practice with the Detroit Lions on Tuesday. These inter-squad sessions are leading up to the teams’ preseason matchup on Thursday night.
During the press conference in the morning before practice, Bill Belichick fielded a question about Chase Winovich, who ended up having a nice practice.
“Chase is tough, he runs well, he’s got good size, good power,” Belichick told reporters. “He had a very productive career at Michigan and we’re looking forward to seeing him out there in some game action, both on defense and in the kicking game.”
Here a look at the other notable action from practice.
N’Keal Harry had an injury scare
The Patriots’ 2019 first-round draft choice came up yelling and holding his hamstring. He saw the Patriots’ training staff before returning to practice briefly, but he didn’t finish the session. It’s an injury worth monitoring ahead of the first preseason game.
Harry was having a good practice, with a one-handed touchdown catch, per reporters on the scene. He seems to have caught the attention of the Lions standout cornerback Darrius Slay.
“Fifty is big,” Slay said, via The Athletic’s Nick Underhill. “He’s a big boy, man. He’s aggressive. He looks like he’s gonna be a big tool for them.”
There was a fight…
Lions defensive tackle P.J. Johnson appeared to get ejected following an altercation between Patriots and Lions players, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss. NESN’s Zack Cox spotted Patriots center James Ferentz, tight end Ryan Izzo and receiver Maurice Harris in the middle of the action.
Matt Patricia is stealing the show on his ATV
Because Patricia is dealing with a foot injury, he has been rolling on a scooter around the Lions facility and an ATV at practice — which is a pretty hilarious sight.
Patriots’ starting defense struggles
New England’s defense, particularly its secondary, has caused both the Patriots and Lions offense to struggle so far during training camp. But the Detroit offense began to get the upper hand during team drills on Tuesday. Quarterback Matthew Stafford completed four straight passes in a 2-minute drill and finished of the Patriots defense with a touchdown to rookie tight end T.J. Hockenson, per the Boston Herald’s Kevin Duffy.
