4 p.m. ET
-
ESPN staff
With the 2022 NFL training camps getting ready to kick into high gear, the league’s young starting quarterbacks are getting valuable reps.
At New England Patriots camp Friday, onlookers expected quarterback Mack Jones to step up his performance after the offense was almost completely shut down, scoring just one touchdown on 11 carries in a red-zone drill late in Thursday’s practice.
Jones didn’t disappoint, showing that his relationship with tight end Jonu Smith is in better shape than it has been for most of 2021. On one play, Jones threw a nearly 20-yard pass to Smith in the back of the end zone , sure Kyle Dugger in coverage, and Smith jumped high to catch the touchdown pass. Smith, who later caught another touchdown from Jones, then followed it up with an emphatic spike.
Despite being mostly sharp, Jones threw his first interception of camp — right into the chest of cornerback Jalen Mills.
In Philadelphia, quarterback Jaylen Hurts and running back had a rough outing Friday after strong performances in the opening practice. In Tennessee and Washington, the young receivers made their mark.
Here’s what you need to know from league camps:
What our NFL Nation reporters saw today
Washington Commanders: Second-year receiver Dyami Brown should be more of a threat for Washington in his second season. A third-round pick in 2021, he caught just eight passes. But his speed still excites Washington, and on Friday he made a great catch. On the play, quarterback Carson Wentz threw deep down the left to Brown. Cornerback Kendall Fuller was in perfect position to intercept the ball with Brown pressed up against him. But as Fuller reached for the ball, Brown jumped and reached over the veteran and caught the ball as they fell to the ground.– John Keim
Philadelphia Eagles: Quarterback Jalen Hurts and the offense struggled after a strong performance in opening practice.
“It didn’t look good,” center Jason Kelce said.
Corner Avonte Maddox provided one of the defensive highlights, rising to intercept Hurts’ floating pass intended for tight end Dallas Goedert.
“This is Day 2 of camp. We’re going to fix it,” Goedert said.– Tim McManus
Tennessee Titans: Rookie wide receiver Traylon Burks completed another outstanding day of work. He uses his size to create separation and earn reps in the one-on-one period. The momentum carried over into group practice sessions when he caught several passes from Ryan Tannehill in traffic over the middle.– Turron Davenport
Green Bay Packers: Given his injury history, it would have been easy to say “Same old Sammy Watkins” when he began camping out on the non-football injured (NFI) list. But the veteran receiver, who the Packers signed in the offseason, was relieved to be able to start practicing on Day 3 of camp. He said he felt what he called a “tweak” in one of his hamstrings after practice before camp.
“The next day I went out and ran routes and ran around and it felt great and I think I was kind of in my own head [thinking]”Man, it happened again,” Watkins said. “But it wasn’t really anything.” His return to practice Friday came on a day when the Packers held only a short half-speed practice. Still, Watkins was able to catch a few passes from Aaron Rodgers as he moved back.– Rob Demowski
Kansas City Chiefs: Newly signed defensive end Carlos Dunlap was not at practice. Dunlap told the Chiefs he needs a few days to get some things in order at home and won’t return to camp until the middle of next week. — Adam Teicher
New England Patriots: Rookie guard Cole Strange, the team’s first-round pick, ended practice with an exclamation point as coach Bill Belichick called him part of a punt-catching contest. The 6-foot-5, 305-pound Strange hauled in one tackle, then when undrafted rookie defensive lineman DaMarcus Mitchell (Purdue) missed his attempt, Strange followed by catching another with a football already in his hands. It sparked a wild celebration of the raid, which won nothing but bragging rights necessarily. — Mike Rice
New York Jets: Newly signed quarterback Quon Alexander will be brought in slowly as he gets into football shape. The Jets’ plan is to have him work out on his own for a few days before hitting the practice field next week for limited work. He had not been signed since the end of last season, so there was no offseason program. He will be used in the Sam and Will linebacker spots, starting as a backup.
“No expectations,” said trainer Robert Saleh, who coached him in San Francisco. “(He) just needs to do what he always does, which is bring a lot of juice, a lot of energy.” — Rich Cimini
Carolina Panthers: The Panthers ranked in the bottom half of the NFL last season in scoring before halftime, so at the end of practice, coach Matt Rule gave quarterbacks Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield a chance to each see what they could do with 1:45 left on the clock. Darnold set up a touchdown thanks to pass interference on a deep pass and a circus catch in the end zone by wide receiver Shea Smith after the ball was knocked away by a defender.
Mayfield’s pack kicked a long field goal as time expired. Carolina also ranks in the bottom half of the league in red zone points in 2021. Darnold went 0-for-4 in his first series there on Friday. Mayfield went 1-for-4. Darnold completed his first deep pass of practice with a 40-plus yard strike to Terrace Marshall Jr. –David Newton
Buffalo Bills: Starting safety Micah Hyde was injured trying to intercept a Josh Allen pass. Hyde dropped the ball as it fell to the ground. After a few seconds, Jordan Poyer, in charge of kickoff security, waved to the team’s athletic trainers, who came to tend to Hyde. Multiple Bills players knelt as Hyde was watched and the music was turned off.
He limped off the field with their help and grabbed the back of his leg at one point before sitting in the passenger seat of the wheelchair that took him to the team’s locker room. Hyde is dealing with a hamstring/gluteal injury that is still being evaluated. He and Poyer make up arguably the best safety tandem in the NFL, so any missed time would be a big loss for this Bills defense. Jaquan Johnson and Damar Hamlin filled in for Hyde for the remainder of practice. — Alena Getzenberg
Top NFL news of the day
The Commanders’ Chase Young will miss at least the start of the season
Washington linebacker Chase Young will miss at least the season opener — and possibly more — with a knee injury he suffered late last year. A team source told ESPN this month that Young would return in mid-September at the earliest.
JJ Watt of the Cardinals is not a fan of the Guardian Cap
Watt, from Arizona, isn’t a fan of wearing the Guardian hat during training camp, and he wasn’t shy about sharing his thoughts on Friday.
“You feel like a fool,” Watt said wordlessly. “Like you’re going to fall. I’ll probably get fined for it. That’s awesome… 15k gone.”
The Guardian cap is required for all offensive linemen, defensive ends, tight ends and linebackers during training camp practices through the second preseason game.
More ▼:
The best NFL videos
A little useful content for your Friday morning 💙❤️🥹 pic.twitter.com/bEdtVdjSvG
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) July 29, 2022
🔥 @juliojones_11 pic.twitter.com/UZAEsJhveL
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) July 29, 2022
Training Camp Touchdown 💪@Tua 👉 @b_sanders pic.twitter.com/wzkagNuaan
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) July 29, 2022
Sammy Watkins (11) is on the field after missing the first two days on the NFI list with a hamstring. pic.twitter.com/h2GDAtRBj3
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) July 29, 2022
😈 @ALIJAHVT & @BigTicket73 😈 pic.twitter.com/gvx78CcSWs
— New York Jets (@nyjets) July 29, 2022
Things we love to see 🙌@Terracemjr pic.twitter.com/cmVmo3fETq
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) July 29, 2022
receiver pairing that should have been 💯
DPJ idolized Amari as a young player and now he will line up next to him 🙏 pic.twitter.com/YNhdG6e2C9
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) July 29, 2022
The Darby content you never knew you needed 🥰@_SavageSZN88 pic.twitter.com/k23ZT0xmoj
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) July 29, 2022
QB1 has Lovie’s voice 🗳 pic.twitter.com/MFwbXZFbCH
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) July 29, 2022
atRamsNFL The Team🤝@RampageNFL stans pic.twitter.com/6gzpVHfJ7Q
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) July 29, 2022
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸. @skyymoore24 pic.twitter.com/hT7nMlMGmP
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) July 29, 2022
director of fan engagement pic.twitter.com/URRVMl6E8N
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) July 29, 2022
Wide receivers warming up again with a rugby ball today pic.twitter.com/sueVBQwDqn
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) July 29, 2022
The best NFL photos
🦎 pic.twitter.com/XoB7ikpNd1
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) July 29, 2022
Ready to go.#Skol
📷: pic.twitter.com/TOdd32N4mu
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) July 29, 2022
Add Comment