Patriots Minicamp Day 3 Takeaways: Tom Brady, Brandin Cooks Get In Some Extra Work
BOSTON (CBS) -- The tandem of Tom Brady and Brandin Cooks has the potential to be special. Maybe not Randy Moss-in-2007 special, but the duo could nevertheless represent the most lethal offensive threat in the league in 2017.
Premature? Of course! But that's what June minicamp is for.
Here's a look at what happened Thursday at Gillette Stadium for the third and final day of minicamp.
Brady And Cooks Get In Extra Work
For Tom Brady, the allotted time for practice is never enough. On Thursday, Brandin Cooks followed the quarterback's lead.
Mike Reiss snapped a photo of the duo walking off the practice field well after the session had come to an end.
Tom Brady and Brandin Cooks walk off the field together after spending some extra time working after practice. pic.twitter.com/ckiKFKwy2K
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) June 8, 2017
Cooks has averaged 81 receptions, 1,156 yards and more than eight touchdowns per season over his past two years.
Cyrus Jones Muffs Punt
It's wrong to expect the second-year player to be perfect, but every time he messes up one of these punts, it's going to get covered.
Cyrus Jones muffed the first punt that came to him today. He was perfect in the first two practices this week.
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) June 8, 2017
Handling punts has to be priorities Nos. 1, 2 and 3 this year for Jones, as he hopes to atone for a somewhat disastrous rookie campaign.
Malcolm Butler Absent
As far as absences go, No. 21 was the biggest.
Malcolm Butler was absent from today's practice. Harmon participated in some team drills for the first time.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) June 8, 2017
Nobody appears alarmed over Malcolm Butler's absence. Reason remains unclear but wouldn't be surprised if he's back on the field next week.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) June 8, 2017
Lawrence Guy and Andrew Jelks were also absent again. Kony Ealy also left the practice session early. Dont'a Hightower, Malcolm Mitchell and Alan Branch continued to work separately during drills as they work through minor injuries.
Limited Role For Garoppolo
Don't read too much into it, but Jimmy Garoppolo got very few reps in 11-on-11's.
Brissett took the second set of reps over Garoppolo in the final two periods of 11-on-11s.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) June 8, 2017
Very strange to see Jimmy Garoppolo only get four reps during 11-on-11s. Brady attempted 24 passes (16 complete) and Brissett was 10-of-16.
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) June 8, 2017
Each quarterback threw an interception in 7-on-7's.
The three QBs each threw one interception today, all in 7-on-7s. Rowe picked Brady, Ebner picked Garoppolo, and Jason Thompson got Brissett.
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) June 8, 2017
In the limited action, Garoppolo was quite accurate.
Brady was 23-37 INT overall, 14-24 in 11s.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) June 8, 2017
Jimmy G 11-14 INT overall, 4-4 in 11s
Brissett 22-32 INT overall, 10-16 in 11s
Familiar Faces On Receiving End Of Brady's Passes
On Wednesday, Brady worked newcomer Rex Burkhead into the receiving rotation. On Thursday, it was back to old friends Julian Edelman and James White.
Edelman and White were Brady's favorite targets today. Each caught four passes.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) June 8, 2017
Of course, given the nature of the practice, the ball was spread around.
Chris Hogan, Devin Lucien, Austin Carr, D.J. Foster and Cody Hollister all made nice grabs during practice.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) June 8, 2017
Gilmore v. Cooks
There ought to be some pretty good competition on the practice fields this year, and this matchup is just one of many.
Saw a little Brandin Cooks/Stephon Gilmore matchup. They ran stride-for-stride on a deep ball that fell incomplete.
— Kevin Duffy (@KevinRDuffy) June 8, 2017
Devin Lucien Putting In Work
For the second straight day, receiver Devin Lucien was the last player to leave the field. He's got a long road ahead of him if he wants to make the roster, considering the way the depth chart looks. But he's certainly putting in the work.
Not Much Downtime For Brady, Edelman and Gronk
The three biggest stars of the Patriots' offense went from the practice field to the club level shortly after practice ended.
Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman arrive at annual Myra Kraft Community MVP banquet. pic.twitter.com/RzSP6facx0
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) June 8, 2017
Miscellaneous
Eric Rowe intercepted Tom Brady in 7v7s while covering Amendola. He's stuck out this past two days.
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) June 8, 2017
Ornery Pats coaching staff today, especially on the defensive side of the ball. A few laps run. Lot of curse words #Itsnotrealfootball
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) June 8, 2017
Coaches got on players today. Some sloppy errors. Brady dominated QB reps with 1st team over Garoppolo (not the case in 1st two days).
— Kevin Duffy (@KevinRDuffy) June 8, 2017
The defense had to run two laps late in practice. Josh Augusta couldn't finish a quarter of the second one.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) June 8, 2017
For the third straight day, the Patriots had a different CB in the slot with the starters. Today it was Cyrus Jones.
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) June 8, 2017
Tom Brady pic.twitter.com/OX3WIsc04I
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) June 8, 2017
Catch of the day went to D.J. Foster, who made an outstanding leaping grab over Shea McClellin
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) June 8, 2017
"Boom."
Tom Brady. Boom! pic.twitter.com/1jWMAcWs0D
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) June 8, 2017
Football in June. Boom.