New England Patriots Training Camp: Observations from Day 3

Day 3 of New England Patriots training camp is in the books, we recap all the action.

On Saturday morning, the New England Patriots returned to the practice field for Day 3 of training camp. For the first time since Super Bowl LI, the team donned their pads as they resumed their first series of training camp sessions. The Patriots team Twitter account shared this video of players in pads partaking in drills.

Here’s what we learned from Day 3 of Patriots training camp:

Long snapper Joe Cardona returned to practice Friday, along with wide receivers Danny Amendola and Malcolm Mitchell, per Zack Cox of NESN. ESPN’s Mike Reiss provided a good explanation as to why Amendola and Mitchell were not present at Friday’s practice, writing:

"“Amendola, 31, is at the point of his career where days off every once in a while might be best for him to make it through the duration of a season to be at his best down the homestretch. And Mitchell, who has a history of knee injuries dating back to college that concerned some teams, was managed similarly at times last year.”"

Rookie wideout Cody Hollister was absent after suffering an injury during Friday’s session and defensive end Rob Ninkovich missed his third consecutive practice. According to Zack Cox, Hollister, an undrafted rookie, did not return to practice on Friday after suffering an upper body injury. Hollister was likely held out of Saturday’s practice so that he could rest and recover.

Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens visited the Patriots training camp session on Saturday. The team shared this video of Stevens taking the field with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels:

According to Chris Price of the Boston Sports Journal, former New England running back Kevin Faulk was also in attendance along with several other Patriots’ Hall of Famers. Price shared this photo of the alumni speaking to the team after practice:

pic.twitter.com/P5TiFsaPIz
— Christopher Price (@cpriceglobe) July 29, 2017

Quarterback Tom Brady logged his first interception of training camp on Saturday, per Zack Cox. Safety Jordan Richards plucked the pass intended for rookie tight end Jacob Hollister during one-on-one drills.

The 2015 second-round pick has now collected three interceptions in three days of training camp. Richards also knocked down a pass aimed at tight end Rob Gronkowski, who usually gets the best of him, per NESN’s Doug Kyed. In June, Musket Fire named Richards a player whose time in New England may be running out. He’s done a good job standing out in camp thus far.

Kyed also reported that undrafted rookie cornerback Kenny Moore collected another interception on Day 3. Moore consistently stood out in minicamp and on Day 1 of training camp.