Patriots Joint Practice Notebook: Eagles Get Physical as A.J. Brown Settles Down

FOXBORO --- After a productive first day of practice, the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles did battle once again on the fields adjacent to Gillette Stadium. The second day of joint practices in pretty hot conditions led to some competitive reps, including some near fights.

Here's what stood out when you open up the Patriots notebook, and why the secondary is starting to fire on every possible cylinder heading into this weekend's preseason game.

Attendance

A few new names were added to the absent list, including fullback Reggie Gilliam and cornerback Channing Canada. The undrafted rookie Canada got banged up at the end of Wednesday's practice, potentially signaling a reason why he wasn't spotted.

They were joined by center Ben Brown, edge rushers Xavier Holmes and Harold Landry (PUP), cornerback Christian Gonzalez and safety Brenden Schooler (NFI).

Passing Stats

Jul 25, 2026; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tommy DeVito (16) throws a pass at training camp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

For the quarterbacks, it was just Drake Maye and Tommy DeVito getting reps. There wasn't any 7-on-7 drills, and there also weren't any snaps for seventh-round rookie Behren Morton. Between Maye and DeVito, the Patriots found the end zone seven times on the day. They also turned the ball over twice.

For Maye, he went 11-for-20 in 11s, throwing four touchdowns to Romeo Doubs (two), A.J. Brown and Mack Hollins. His two interceptions both came targeting the same player (more on that in a bit) and there were times where he got some assistance from defensive pass interferences.

DeVito, on the other hand, didn't have a good day -- at least at first. He opened up the day going 2-for-9 and a touchdown to Efton Chism III helped end what was a streaky start to the morning. But a later session, where DeVito fired off five-straight completions and connected with Hollins twice, Nick DeGennaro, Kayshon Boutte and Kyle Williams, helped settle him in. His day ended with a nice scoring throw to Boutte in a two-minute drill.

Ding, Ding, Ding

Like most joint practices nowadays, the Patriots and Eagles got pretty physical. A few strong runs from the Patriots' Rhamondre Stevenson led to some pushing and shoving after the play. On the other field, though, is where most of the fireworks happened.

The Eagles offense and Patriots defense became pretty accustomed to each other, getting up in each other faces after nearly every play. A few times, a group of coaches had to break up each side. The biggest moment is when cornerback Marcus Jones started grabbing onto the facemask of Eagles wideout Dontayvion Wicks and both players had to be seperated.

Nothing truly boiled over, but it got close.

A.J. Brown Comes Down To Earth

New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown — Aug 19, 2026; Foxborough, MA, USA; at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Brown was electric in the first practice, grabbing all seven targets in his direction. Today? It was a bit of a disappointing output relative to the day prior. Brown caught just two passes in team drills on five targets from Maye, one of which was a nice touchdown in the corner of the end zone.

But both of Maye's interceptions were when Brown was targeted. The first one was in the red zone, when Eagles cornerback Riq Woolen undercut a Maye pass in the flat intended for Brown. He took it the distance for what was the practice equivalent of a pick-six.

Later on in the day, Brown was targeted over the middle but a deflected pass fell into the hands of linebacker Jalyx Hunt. Had those two plays been completed, Brown's day would have felt a lot better than it does right now. Ultimately, not a bad day by any stretch, but a step down from Wednesday's performance.

Young Linemen Stand Out

For both sides of the line, several Patriots had promising days. Offensively, Caleb Lomu got some extended looks as the top right tackle instead of Morgan Moses (it looked like it was a load management type of day). He also worked in as the backup left tackle, while Marcus Bryant got snaps on the right side. In the past, those two players had been switched.

"It has been awesome," Lomu said. "It's a good challenge coming out here, going against a really good team. You know, nothing's perfect out here. ... A lot to learn from, but some good things that I did."

Defensively, both defensive tackle Cory Durden and edge rusher Elijah Ponder stood out. Ponder would have had two sacks during team drills, while Durden broke through a stout Eagles offensive line a number of times. He too would have had a sack on Hurts during a red zone rep.

Turnovers Carry Over

The Patriots forced five interceptions in the first day, including three off of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Jones had one of them on Wednesday, taking it to the house. Today, it was more of the same for the New England defense.

Jones had two more interceptions off Hurts, one of them getting tipped right into his hands. That too would have been a pick six, and it helped the Patriots' defense "win" the day (if you're a fan of claiming winners and losers of a practice).

"I feel like we're always trying to get turnovers," Jones said after practice. "I'm a hard critic of the DB room, so I feel like, you know, there's always room for improvement."

"They Said It"

New England Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones speaking to the media after Thursday's joint practice. | Ethan Hurwitz / Patriots On SI

"It's great, man. We've built relationships with all of those guys. ... Those connections, man, it means a lot whenever it comes down to no matter what team that you play against. ... It's bigger than football." - Marcus Jones said on seeing a large group of former Patriots defensive backs on the other side, including Jonathan Jones, Isaiah Bolden, Shaun Wade, Marcus Epps and former position coach Mike Pellegrino.

What's Next?

The Patriots just wrapped up six-straight practices and now are going to enjoy a day off from the practice field (in front of reporters at least). They'll be back in pads for their second preseason game against these Eagles on Saturday evening at 7 p.m.

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