Sunday Patriots Notes: Offense looking for increased urgency

The New England Patriots’ training camp is underway. And while the first session was ultimately relatively uneventful, it was a first dipping of the toes into the 2026 waters for players, fans and media alike.

The tempo and intensity will obviously increase in the coming days and weeks, especially following the introduction of full pads. Before we focus on what lies ahead, however, let’s take one final look back at the week that was. Welcome to the latest installment of our Sunday Patriots Notes.

Offensive urgency

Despite the success the Patriots offense enjoyed in 2025, mostly in the regular season, it was still the first year of quarterback Drake Maye leading the Josh McDaniels-led unit. Now in their second season together, the hope is for the operation to become smoother, more efficient and: faster.

“Just continue to try to operate, be more urgent, get everybody functioning just a little bit quicker,” said head coach Mike Vrabel. “We want to go fast, whether we huddle or we go on the ball. Whatever that looks like, we want to be able to try to dictate the defense a little bit. The urgency in which we operate is something we’ve all talked about; the communication, always taking care of the ball.”

A faster operation should allow the Patriots to increase their number of snaps per game, and thus their ability to score points. Last season, despite ranking second in the league in scoring, New England ranked only 18th in plays per game (61.4).

That number is influenced by a variety of factors, but a speedier operation is part of it.

“We did a lot of great things on offense. We had a bunch of statistics, we did a bunch of things high in the league. We could even create more plays, snap the ball earlier in the play clock and get some things going,” said Maye.

“Getting us in the right play first. Getting set under center. Getting ready to get it in the gun. Just moving faster. We got a good play that we like against the defense, just train our guys to be, ‘Hey, once we get down on the football and get set, we’re going.’”

Increased stability

The Patriots did not have perfect attendance for their first practice of the summer on Saturday, but what they did have is more stability. Comparing the active rosters from the opening day of the team’s 2026 and 2025 training camps, we can see that 44 players are still around. That marks a slight increase compared to the previous two years: only 36 players remained on the team between 2024 and 2025.

That increase did not happen by accident. Last summer, after all, was Mike Vrabel’s first as head coach. He overhauled the roster significantly in Year 1 — a process that has slightly slowed down but, as evidenced by the still high turnover rate, remains ongoing.

N.C. sessions

Whether or not it will become an annual tradition remains to be seen. For a second straight offseason, however, Drake Maye invited some of his teammates to North Carolina for a throwing session before training camp.

“We had the guys come to North Carolina again like last year,” Maye said on Saturday. “Got on the lake and got three days of work. It was good to have those guys there, and I think it’s huge in the offseason, right before camp, to get guys going and have them. I feel like we had a good group, some good sessions and it was fun work.”

Among the participants was Patriots offseason signing Romeo Doubs.

“Just going out there for those few days with Drake and the other guys, getting together and building more chemistry, that’s the norm around this league,” the former Packers wide receiver said. “It was an amazing session that we all had together when we were out there.”

Page turned

The Patriots’ 2025 season was a success as a whole, but it ultimately ended with a disappointing performance and defeat in the Super Bowl. There is no dwelling on the past, though, as the AFC champions begin their training camp.

“Obviously, you play so late and then you lose a big game like that and something you dream about, obviously was hard for a long time,” said tight end Hunter Henry. “But once we got back here, we were able to get to work on this year and what’s ahead. I think we’re all excited for just this year and not really worried about last year.”

Rookie signing speed

Even though his contract is not yet officially signed, second-round draft pick Gabe Jacas and New England have finally agreed to terms on his rookie deal. This made Jacas the second-to-last player drafted this year to agree to his pact — Rams QB Ty Simpson did the same a few hours later — and the latest to do so among all Patriots draftees since the introduction of the rookie wage scale in 2012.

In total, between the first and last reported signings, 78 days passed. The previously longest such stretch for the team was 72 days in 2018, according to calculations by Patriots salary cap expert Miguel Benzan.

The Patriots’ staff has a new, if temporary, member: five-time All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins joined the team in an assistant capacity, as head coach Mike Vrabel announced ahead of training camp. Hopkins will be around the coaches and the personnel staff, and on Saturday got his first taste of New England practice life.

Hopkins spent the session assisting the wide receivers.

“It’s really good,” said Romeo Doubs. “It’s my first time seeing DHop in person. I know he’s been an amazing receiver in this league. So, just to have his aura, his energy around is also a huge help, just in our offense. It feels good to be around [him].”

The Patriots made a handful of transactions leading up to training camp, and one of those increased the number of Boston College alums on the team’s roster. After previously selecting edge defender Quintayvious Hutchins in the seventh round of the draft, the team has now also signed rookie free agent tight end Jeremiah Franklin.

“I have a lot of respect for [Bill O’Brien] at Boston College,” said Mike Vrabel. “Jeremiah is someone we had at local day — we looked at him a lot. The numbers were probably not in his favor at the time and then now I think they are a little bit more favorable. We’re able to bring him in. I think he’s continued to improve. It looked like he’d been working out. I think he’s gotten stronger since March.

“Certainly with Q, on the edge, we’re always looking for young pash rushers that can help you. Those guys will have to learn special teams pretty quickly given their body types. That process has already started for Q and Jeremiah will start that process [Saturday].”

Hutchins and Franklins are the second and third Eagles on the Patriots’ current roster, joining last year’s free agency pickup Harold Landry.

For Vrabel, the connections to the school go beyond those three players, though. His son Tyler spent his four-year college career at B.C. as well.

Even though he has yet to make his way into the Patriots Hall of Fame, despite multiple times as a finalist, Logan Mankins remains undisputed as one of the best offensive linemen to ever wear the team’s colors. The same is true at his college, Fresno State.

And unlike the Patriots, the Bulldogs have taken the steps to honor the now-44-year-old among the top players in program history: in October, Mankins’ name will be added to the Fresno State Ring of Honor.

“It is awesome,” Mankins was quoted in a press release from the school’s department. “It is such a great honor. There have been so many great players that have played at Fresno State and to be included with them and the coaches that have been there is pretty special.”

Mankins spent his entire five-year college career at Fresno State. Between 2000 and 2004, he started all 40 of the games he appeared in at left tackle and was named first-team All-WAC and second-team All-American as a senior. He later joined the Patriots as a first-round selection in the 2005 NFL Draft and over his nine seasons with the club started all of his 147 regular season and playoff games.

Rooney Rule concerns

The NFL’s so-called Rooney Rule governing franchises’ hiring practices is in the spotlight again following an ESPN investigation. Among the coaches mentioned in the story is Patriots tight ends coach and passing game coordinator Thomas Brown, who appeared to have been used as a token candidate for an unnamed organization last year.

Brown, per the story, got word that the offensive coordinator job he was interviewing for had already been taken. He was therefore effectively used to fulfill the quota that requires at least two interviews with external minority candidates for any head coaching job in the NFL.

“There’s no purpose of trying to rethink the rule until there’s individuals in positions [of hiring power] that actually want to [hire] the best possible candidate for the job,” Brown was quoted in the story. “You would love to know when someone calls you about an interview that it’s actually genuine. But if their thought process is to just check a box so they can hire whoever they want to hire … that can’t be controlled or regulated.”

Brown did not name a team, but he had two reported interviews during this year’s hiring cycle. He interviewed with the Cardinals for their head coaching gig, and with the Chargers as offensive coordinator. The jobs eventually went to Mike LeFleur and Mike McDaniel, respectively..

Week ahead

With their training camp underway, the Patriots will remain busy for the time being. The practice schedule for the coming week looks like this:

Sunday, July 26: 10:15 a.m. ET
Monday, July 27: 10 a.m. ET
Tuesday, July 28: 10:15 a.m. ET
Thursday, July 30: 10:15 a.m. ET
Friday, July 31: 10:15 a.m. ET
Saturday, August 1: 10:15 p.m. ET

For more information on the Patriots’ training camp, please make sure to check out the Pats Pulpit Training Camp Guide.

In addition to the practice schedule, the team also has a contract deadline coming up. According to Miguel Benzan, by the end of business on Monday cornerback Christian Gonzalez ($550k), quarterback Drake Maye ($3.1M) and offensive tackle Will Campbell ($1.8M) will all have secured roster bonuses.

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