FOXBOROUGH – Day 3 of 2024 training camp is in the books for the Pats and while there wasn’t a whole ton of action again, it was easily the best atmosphere so far.

Bleachers were full and the sun was out (still way too hot for me though) and it was much louder as well. There were a few spots where the fans got a glimpse of what could be in the future, but it was mostly another sluggish day offensively. There was also the Jabrill Peppers news that broke just minutes before Jerod Mayo met the media.

In another sign of the times, Mayo jokingly seemed to forget he was now the head coach for a second when asked if he could confirm the report, pausing and then saying “Yeah, I can confirm it. I’m the head coach, I can confirm it,” with a chuckle.

This session was just under two hours and in shells, with a day off for the players on Saturday before they’re back out on the field Sunday morning. The first day of pads is set for Monday. Here’s what stood out up on the hill…

-Shaun Wade was in a red non-contact jersey.

-Pop Douglas – who again didn’t participate in team activities – fielded punts and went through receiver drills. Mayo said before practice that it’s nothing serious and he’s just working through something.

-Douglas, Ja’Lynn Polk, KJ Osborn, Marcus Jones David Wallis fielded punts while the rest of the team made its way up the stairs and out to the practice fields.

-Christian Barmore and Marte Mapu strolled in about 20 minutes into practice. Davon Godchaux was present. Mayo said his absence on Thursday was not contract related.

-Joe Milton pulled out one of his now extremely popular back flips after taking reps in an early net accuracy and footwork drill. drawing a huge ovation. Milton also had a strong day given where he is on the depth chart, but more on that later.

-Another lengthy Indy period, much longer than the ones under Belichick, or at least it certainly seems that way. First bit of 7-on-7 got going around 11:40.

-Bailey Zappe and Joe Milton worked on the opposite field in their own 7-on-7 reps while Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett were on the ‘main’ field in front of the fans. Maye had an interesting thought regarding the fans, saying it’s good to get used to it since college there’s one or two fan days or a spring game and that’s it.

-Brissett had three short completions to Jalen Reagor, Tyquan Thornton and Kevin Harris. Maye had a ball batted down by Ja’Whaun Bentley, then had five straight completions to Hunter Henry (3), Austin Hooper and Rhamondre Stevenson.

-One drive each for Maye and Brissett in a full team period up next. Brissett had a pass broken up by Kyle Dugger that I believe was almost picked. Bentley made another play, diving to break up a pass  on the sideline. There was a deep throw away and a quick out to Stevenson before a run stuff by Deatrich Wise. Harris had a nice little jump cut with Maye in before a rollout and look back side on a play action pass was incomplete. It looked like Smith-Schuster fell down on a route outside and there was a high screen to Osborn that was reeled in.

-Quick period of the 1-on-1 angle/elusiveness in the open field drill for the skill guys on both sides of the ball.

-Back to 7-on-7 and more choppiness for the offense. Brissett had a short completion to Hooper and a dump off to Stevenson before a great catch in traffic over the middle by Jalen Reagor. PBU for Alex Austin, quick throw to the sideline for Smith-Schuster and a deep ball that fell incomplete intended for Polk with Christian Gonzalez in coverage.

-Looked like Maye and Polk had a miscommunication on the first snap of his drive. Maye hit a short pass to Harris and fired a bullet to the sideline for JaQuae Jackson. PBU on the sideline for Azizi Hearn and a great throw to Kayshon Boutte on a slant over the middle into a tight window. Also hit Javon Baker short to end on a good note.

-Back to full team around 12:15 or so. Nothing major for Brissett here. Good completions to Osborn, Harris, Smith-Schuster and Osborn. Osborn has shown some good burst after the catch, hopefully he can make an impact.

-Maye’s first throw here was the best of camp for any QB so far, lofting a deep ball for Ja’Lynn Polk down the right sideline that was hauled in with both Jaylinn Hawkins and Hearn in coverage. Polk – who continues to make an impact daily – was extremely fired up as the crowd roared. Hunter Henry sprinted downfield to celebrate with him, as did Hooper and Brissett. After a quick throw to Hooper, there was (I believe) a false start just before Matt Judon had a pick-six on a ball into the left flat. Judon grabbed it, sprinted to the end zone and then went and jumped/hugged the goal post padding, hanging on for a few seconds. Maye finished on a good note with a good throw over the middle to Jackson.

-Backed up on their own 20, Maye and Milton got the reps in another team period. Maye hit Wallis on a crosser and had a nice, decisive scramble before throwing a dart to the sideline for Polk and a quick completion to JaMycal Hasty. Milton had probably his best reps so far, hitting Boutte, Jackson and Jaheim Bell with fast, accurate throws.

-Brief period of two-minute walkthrough before we saw our first field goal competition to wrap up. It looked like it was about 30-40 yarders where Chad Ryland was 4-4. Joey Slye missed one.

Slow and steady wins the race. That’s ultimately where it feels like the Pats are at this early in training camp. It’ll be interesting to see if things pick up Sunday after the first day off and then obviously the first day in pads Monday should be entertaining. Practice is once again open to the public Sunday, Monday and Tuesday with gates opening at 10 and practice starting right around 11.