The Patriots’ eleventh training camp practice just came to an end. Today, the team was back in shells after a slower, walkthrough-style practice Wednesday.

Wide receiver absences:

For the second day in a row, wide receiver Romeo Doubs failed to make an appearance at practice. The Patriots signed Doubs to a massive four-year deal worth up to $68 million this offseason, and so far, he is yet to flash.

The reason for Doubs’ absences is unknown; however, we saw the fifth-year pass catcher have his ankle taped up during Saturday’s practice. The former Packer stayed down on the ground for an extra second after fumbling the football shortly after his ankle was taped.

Doubs was a full participant in Monday and Tuesday’s practices and didn’t seem to come down with a glaring injury either of the days. This leads me to believe this isn’t an injury-related thing, but rather rest or an off-the-field situation.

The connection between quarterback Drake Maye and Doubs has been spotty to start camp. It felt as if Doubs would make one catch early in team periods and not be heard from again. His production did pick up in Saturday’s practice, where he caught five passes from Maye, but he wasn’t able to build on the momentum.

Undrafted rookie wide receiver Cameron Dorner, who has shown out throughout camp, missed his third practice in a row. Dorner built a good connection with third-string quarterback Behren Morton early in camp, with the two connecting on a few deep passes.

Due to the log jam the team has at receiver, Dorner wasn’t pushing for a roster spot, but his standout performance could have earned him a spot on the practice squad.

The 22-year-old not landing on injured reserve, to this point, is a good sign. With three days passing since the presumed injury, it looks like the team still views this as something that isn’t a long-term problem. That is, of course, if the absence is due to an injury, which we are yet to find out.

Will Campbell out, Marcus Bryant in:

Second-year left tackle Will Campbell was seen donning a Rob Gronkowski-style chunky black arm brace on his left arm. Campbell debuted the arm brace at Wednesday’s walkthrough and kept it on for Thursday's practice. The former LSU tackle did not participate in team drills.

Filling in for Campbell was 2025 seventh-round draft choice Marcus Bryant. Bryant essentially red-shirted his rookie season, seeing just 74 total snaps, 54 coming on special teams.

Bryant has been the team’s backup left tackle for the entirety of camp, so his replacement of the injured Campbell shouldn’t sound any alarm bells.

With that being said, I don’t believe if Campbell were to miss time in the regular season, Bryant would be the next man up. Caleb Lomu, the team’s first-round pick, would likely fill in at left tackle. Lomu not fulfilling his full role as the team’s projected swing tackle today is likely due to the team not wanting to mess with his development.

Lomu has been repping as the team’s backup right tackle for the entirety of the summer and throwing him into the fire on the left side, to me, wouldn’t have been the smartest thing to do, especially in a non-padded practice.

A disastrous offensive ending:

The Patriots offense did not have an ideal ending to Thursday’s practice. As the team worked on their two-minute offense, starting quarterback Drake Maye delivered back-to-back interceptions.

Cornerback Marcus Jones and safety Kevin Byard were the ones to take the ball away. Jones stepped in front of an in-breaking route intended for Kayshon Boutte for his takeaway, while Byard’s was a result of an overthrown ball intended for tight end Hunter Henry. Both were bad throws by Maye.

The first team offense was then taken on the field, and unfortunately for DeVito, it didn’t get much better with the second team. The veteran was picked off by safety John Saunders Jr. At that point, Mike Vrabel had seen enough and called practice.

The Patriots two-minute offense was not a strength for the club last season and hasn’t been throughout Maye’s career. The Patriots ran “no-huddle” very rarely last season, as Maye only had 14 passing attempts in the fast-tempo offense.

The Patriots have made it a point of emphasis to run more plays this year, as the team ranked 17th in plays per game, averaging exactly 62 each game.

The offense still has a long way to go if they want to successfully execute their two-minute and faster-paced offense in the upcoming season.

What they said:

Cornerback Christian Gonzalez was first up to the podium and was asked about his battle with A.J. Brown. The two had an intense practice, in which plenty of trash talk was flowing.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s good on good,” Gonzalez said. “He’s a number one receiver in this league going up against a number one corner, that’s how it’s gonna go. It’s football at the end of the day, there’s never any disrespect or anything. We’re just battling and getting each other better.”

Gonzalez later reiterated he will not be negotiating his contract through the media.

The Patriots will be back on the practice fields tomorrow at 10:15 a.m. Practice is set to be open to the public, whether permitted.