New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones throws during practice on Wednesday in Green Bay, Wis. Morry Gash/Associated Press
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Patriots’ offense and Mac Jones had their first test in Wednesday’s joint practices with the Green Bay Packers.
Up to this point, through 14 days of Patriots training camp, Jones and his group have made incremental improvements this summer despite playing behind an injury-laden offensive line. On Wednesday, there were more issues with pass protection, but in the end, Jones played well against the Packers’ defense.
Jones threw a camp-high 26 passes in competitive full-team drills. He completed 69% of his throws, going 18 for 26. There were highs and lows from Jones’ unit.
The Patriots’ offense started strong as Jones went 4 for 5 in the first two quarters. The Packers’ defense stepped up in the third quarter, which started with a coverage sack on Jones. He then went 3 for 5, but the operation wasn’t as polished. The group, however, rebounded in the red zone. In the second half, Jones was 4 for 5 with a touchdown to Devante Parker.
“Definitely think we need to be more consistent,” said Jones. “I know we had a couple situations, just penalties, we have to get fixed.”
Parker was one of the best players on the day. On the TD, he jumped over several defenders to haul in the jump ball. Jones was so pumped that he ran into the end zone to celebrate with Parker, who finished with a camp-high five receptions on the day.
• The joint practice marked the first day for Ezekiel Elliott in a Patriots uniform. After the team announced his signing in the morning, the running back suited up against the Green Bay Packers.
Elliott went full speed to start the practice, but overall, was a limited participant. The 28-year-old took part in the walkthrough portion of practice. Elliott took part in position drills with the running backs, where he repped behind Rhamondre Stevenson, as well as a walkthrough with quarterbacks Jones and Bailey Zappe.
Elliott took handoffs from Jones and Zappe before he caught some passes from Jones. Following this portion of practice, the veteran running back didn’t take part in any full-contact work against the Packers.
HALL OF FAME: Buddy Parker, who coached the Detroit Lions to back-to-back NFL titles in the 1950s, was picked as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s class of 2024.
Parker was announced as the candidate from a group of 12 coaches and contributors after multiple votes were needed from the 12-person committee. He will get into the Hall if he is supported by at least 80% of the full Hall of Fame panel of voters next January.
Parker had a 107-76-9 record as a head coach for the Cardinals, Lions and Steelers but his greatest success came during his six years at the helm in Detroit.
After spending one year as co-coach of the Chicago Cardinals in 1949, Parker was hired to take over the Lions in 1951 and ushered in the only sustained period of winning in franchise history.
Detroit had the most losses in the NFL in the six seasons before Parker took over as coach, with the only success in franchise history coming when the Lions won the title with Parker as a player in 1935.
Parker died in 1982 at age 68.
The committee also considered 11 other candidates along with Parker: Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Frank “Bucko” Kilroy, Robert Kraft, Dan Reeves, Art Rooney Jr., Marty Schottenheimer, Mike Shanahan, Clark Shaughnessy, Lloyd Wells and John Wooten.
Coughlin, Shanahan and George Seifert are the only retired coaches to have won multiple Super Bowls who are not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
A 12-person committee will pick up to three senior candidates next week from a list of 12 semifinalists to advance to the final stage of voting.
The selection committee could also vote in up to five modern era candidates from a pool still to be determined.
COLTS: Running back Jonathan Taylor left the team’s training camp complex for the second time in a week, team officials confirmed in a statement.
The announcement came shortly before Indy and the Chicago Bears held the first of two joint practices at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana, about a 30-minute drive from team headquarters on the city’s west side.
The 2021 NFL rushing champion has been on the physically unable to perform list since reporting to camp July 25. He had offseason ankle surgery.
“Jonathan Taylor returned to Indianapolis to continue his rehab, however he had a personal matter arise,” the team said. “He is not currently with the team and his absence is excused.”
TITANS: Wide receiver Treylon Burks was injured during practice with the Minnesota Vikings and unable to put weight on his left leg, a potential setback for an offense counting on a significant contribution from the second-year player.
Burks caught a deep pass in a one-on-one drill against Vikings cornerback Akayleb Evans, stumbling forward as his momentum carried him to the ground. The 2022 first-round draft pick limped to his feet as he grabbed at his leg and realized he’d need help off the field. Titans medical staff carted him off for further examination.
BUCS-JETS: Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Russell Gage and New York Jets cornerbacks coach Tony Oden were both carted off the field after separate injuries during the teams’ joint practice.
Gage suffered a non-contact right knee injury during the session and Buccaneers Coach Todd Bowles said it appears “pretty serious.”
Gage, who had 51 catches for 426 yards and a career-high five touchdowns last season in his first year with Tampa Bay, went down during early 7-on-7 drills and appeared to be in tears as he was carted off. .
Oden was injured when he took what Jets Coach Robert Saleh called “some friendly fire” during one of the half-dozen or so skirmishes during the practice.
After players were separated, Oden was down on the grass and trainers and medical personnel attended to him. The 50-year-old assistant coach appeared to not move for a few moments, but was able to get up under his own power and sat up on the cart as he was taken inside the facility before heading to the hospital for further evaluation.
RAVENS: Cornerback Marlon Humphrey was set to have foot surgery Wednesday, a potentially significant blow to the team’s defensive backfield.
Coach John Harbaugh said it isn’t a long-term injury, but he didn’t give a more specific timeline and the start of the regular season is less than four weeks away.
RAIDERS: The Las Vegas Raiders removed first-round draft pick Tyree Wilson off the non-football injury list.
Wilson, a defensive end drafted seventh overall, was placed on that injury list before training camp because of a foot injury suffered last season at Texas Tech. He also didn’t participate in organized team activities or minicamp.
SAINTS: Veteran running back and former LSU standout Darrell Williams signed with New Orleans and practiced on Tuesday night, two days after Saints rookie running back Kendre Miller left a preseason game with a sprained knee.
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