Observations From the New England Patriots Joint Practice with the Indianapolis Colts

For the first time since training camp began on July 25, the New England Patriots lined up across from an opponent besides themselves. 

The Indianapolis Colts were present in Foxboro today for a joint practice session to precede the teams’ preseason opener on Thursday night — and in contrast from the game's likely setting, the stars were out this afternoon. From a key matchup on the boundary to battles in the trenches, Tuesday’s high-intensity practice was an early summer litmus test for New England’s 2026 roster after an offseason of reconstruction.

The results? A mixed bag. Both offenses were able to gain ground on the opposing defenses, paving the way for highlight moments for each team’s starters and backups. But while there were plenty of takeaways on the field, perhaps the biggest storyline exiting Tuesday’s practice came off-the-field.

Here are our key observations from the Patriots’ joint practice session against the Colts:

The most impactful storyline from Tuesday’s joint practice session came off the field, as cornerback Christian Gonzalez missed his first practice of the summer. Gonzalez is in the midst of contract extension discussions with New England that would likely make him the highest paid cornerback in the NFL, but had thus far participated in all camp activities. 

With the risk of potential injury at practice growing with more intense battles, Gonzalez’s exclusion from today’s session with the Colts should not have come as a surprise. Rather, the extent to which he had involved himself to this point was contradictory to many stars' negotiations in recent years. Where many players would have “held-in” or “held-out” of training camp practices to preserve future earnings with a clean bill of health, Gonzalez has been a standout.

His absence was compounded by cornerbacks Carlton Davis III and Charles Woods. There were signs of optimism for Davis yesterday, as he returned in a limited fashion after missing the greater part of the past week dealing with an apparent hamstring injury. But he and Woods were once again out of the lineup again on Tuesday, rendering the Patriots with a top cornerback duo of Kindle Vildor and Karon Prunty on the top unit.

Offensively, New England was once again without the services of Morgan Moses. The veteran's rest days are building with each passing week and cleared a path today for contributions from rookie offensive tackle Caleb Lomu against the best edge rushers Indianapolis had to offer.

On the Colts’ side, wide receiver Josh Downs returned — and did so in emphatic fashion.  His availability had been in question due to a groin injury suffered on Saturday, but Downs made a splash with a touchdown reception against Marcus Jones in one of the final 11-on-11 periods of the day. 

As expected, the intensity at joint practice was taken up a notch with both teams seeing new faces on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage for the first time in the 2026 season. Starters participated in one-on-one individual and team periods, with several eye-popping offensive plays on either side. 

It didn’t take long for the prolific match-up between A.J. Brown and Sauce Gardner to catch the eye of fans in attendance. On the first rep of practice, Brown and Gardner aligned opposite each other for a one-on-one battle; Brown ran a comeback route and put Gardner on skates, generating plenty of separation for Maye to lob an easy connection his way near the sideline.

That intensity continued through low red-zone, full-field 11-on-11 drills, and on kick coverage, where at least one temper flared. Indianapolis edge rusher Durrell Nchami was pulled off the field after throwing a punch, and did not return for the remainder of the day. Later on Downs’ touchdown reception against Jones, the two exchanged words in the end zone and resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Patriots’ defense. 

It was a day filled with ups-and-downs for New England’s quarterbacks. 

Maye began the day hot — with notable connections with Brown, DeMario Douglas, and two touchdown passes to Rhamondre Stevenson during the red zone period. Each of those scores was contested, and saw Stevenson fight through contact to keep the ball secure through the ground. Maye also hit Brown during the same drill for a one-handed score, lofting a pass to the back-left corner of the end zone over cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt to convert. 

His production came to a screeching halt during the final period of the day. Tasked with driving the length of the field in a two-minute drill, Maye was nearly sacked on the first snap of the possession, but stepped forward into the pocket and delivered an off-platform throw to Douglas on a shallow cross to keep the play alive. He connected with Douglas again on a similar look on the second play of the drive, and was forced to scramble for a first down on the ensuing snap. With momentum moving downfield, Maye launched a deep pass to Douglas over the middle of the field, where Colts’ safety Camryn Bynum was waiting to intercept him and conclude his day at practice.

Maye finished the day 15-of-23 passing with six touchdown passes and one interception during 11-on-11 drills and 4-of-6 in 7-on-7 drills. 

When the second-team offense was on the field, Tommy DeVito continued to impress. DeVito drew applause with an early deep connection to Kyle Williams on a post, and finished the practice with a vertical shot to Mack Hollins for a walk-in touchdown on the first play of the drive. He capped off his performance by converting New England’s two-point conversion attempt on a laser over the middle to tight end Eli Raridon.

DeVito wrapped-up practice 11-of-16 in 11-on-11’s and 2-of-6 in 7-on-7’s — growing stronger as the session rolled on. After practice, safety Dell Pettus described DeVito as being in a “flow state” within the offense, and it showed in his downfield accuracy during team periods. 

All eyes may have been on the Brown-Gardner showdown to begin practice, but it didn’t take long for other weapons in the Patriots' arsenal to steal the show.

In one-on-ones, Efton Chism III and DeMario Douglas each made leaping receptions on corner routes over the outstretched hands of Indianapolis defensive backs. Douglas stayed busy with the first-team offense throughout, and Chism later got in on the action with a reception in the flat from Maye in 11-on-11’s. 

In the red zone, it was the A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs show for Maye's group. Brown caught two touchdown passes on the day: the one-handed reception in the back corner of the end zone and another on a quick slant against cornerback Mekhi Blackmon. Doubs' lone touchdown of the day came from a condensed formation look — similar to his usage in Green Bay with the Packers. He was aligned next to Hunter Henry close to the formation, and his inside release forced a defensive switch onto linebacker Austin Ajiake. Doubs then broke the route outside to the pylon, and Maye lobbed a pass over the head of Ajiake to score.

Kyle Williams made notable contributions with the second-team offense, catching a quick out near the sideline and later connecting with DeVito on the deep post. His chemistry with Maye still appears to be a work in progress; his one target — a vertical route up the right sideline — came on a play where Williams tripped, fell to the ground, and Maye’s pass fell out of reach.

Both of New England’s top tight ends were involved early and often. The newly re-signed Henry found open space up the seam against zone coverage on one play, resulting in a big gain for Maye and the offense. He also scored a touchdown with the second unit in the low red zone. 

Eli Raridon’s stock continues to rise, as he was one of the most active receivers during the joint practice session and outpaced Henry in snaps with the first-team offense. He opened the day with a clear victory on a dig route against safety Daniel Scott in one-on-ones, and in 11-on-11’s with a deep reception from Maye on a corner route, laying out to wrangle in the pass over-the-top of a Colts’ defender. With DeVito and the backups, Raridon was a dependable target with receptions in the flat, up the seam, and over the middle on the two-point conversion. 

Morgan Moses’ non-participation at Tuesday’s joint practice created an opportunity for Caleb Lomu to see starter reps against a non-Patriots defense for the first time. He held up well during 11-on-11 drills, with disengagements coming deep enough in the pocket to give Maye an alley to step-up and extend plays.

The rest of the starters were status-quo for New England, as Will Campbell returned to team periods wearing a sizable brace on his left arm. There was a shake-up on the second unit, however. Previously, Marcus Bryant had manned the left tackle spot for the backup offense, with either Lomu or Dametrious Crownover playing at right tackle. Today, those roles were reversed, as Bryant was on the right side and Crownover on the left. 

Crownover has turned heads with decisive victories in one-on-ones through training camp, but had yet to see his role in the Patriots’ offense evolve past (mainly) the third-team offense. That changed today with his switch over to the left side of the line of scrimmage — and could be a positive development in his odds to crack the final 53-man roster. 

A fringe top 100 consensus prospect entering the 2026 NFL Draft, Crownover’s availability at 196th overall was surprising. He formerly played tight end before transitioning to offensive tackle at Texas A&M, and still showcases a high-level of athleticism for the position. Much like Lomu, those traits may give him the versatility to plug gaps at a multitude of different positions along the offensive line. Today was his first chance to make an impact outside of the right tackle spot, but there may be more to come.

For those hoping that Tuesday’s joint practice session would breed the revitalization of the Patriots pass rush, you’ll need to wait a bit longer. With Christian Barmore limited and Harold Landry’s timetable for returning from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list still cloudy, New England had a difficult time setting the edge against the run and rushing the passer.

On the first play of 11-on-11 drills, Indianapolis running back Jonathan Taylor took an outside zone handoff over the right side of the offensive line and worked his way back behind left guard Quenton Nelson for a chunk gain that was only blown dead after the All-Pro rusher busted through the third level of the defense. 

Without Barmore in the lineup, Cory Durden stepped into a more significant role next to Milton Williams in four down-linemen sets. He flashed during team periods with a deflection at the line of scrimmage on a Daniel Jones passing attempt, and plugged the A-gap on two other short rushing attempts that resulted in minimal gains for the Colts.

A top corner pairing of Vildor and Prunty wasn’t representative of New England’s typical strength in coverage along the boundary, and it showed in the success rate of each quarterback Indianapolis walked onto the field on Tuesday.

Daniel Jones, Anthony Richardon, and Riley Leonard each led quality drives for the Colts, even while relying more heavily on the passing attack in the practice setting. With a low percentage of run calls and a continued high-usage of play action, tight end Tyler Warren made an impact at all three levels. In the final period of the day, Warren hauled in a deep crossing route over Prunty on a play-action boot out to the left for a 20-plus yard gain that put Indianapolis in position to cap off the drive with Downs’ touchdown.

The regular top-dogs weren’t lining up for New England on the boundary during joint practice, but the team’s ongoing evaluation of the depth behind their starters didn’t hold up against the Colts’ top offense. We’ll see if those same players are able to put together a better showing on Thursday night.

The Patriots’ first taste of external competition to begin the 2026 season came with highs and lows. Offensively, new additions at wide receiver and tight end stepped to the forefront and generated big plays. Defensively, lapses in coverage and a failure to control the point of attack helped the opposition in doing just the same.

Next, we’ll get a much closer look at New England’s youth and depth when the two teams kick off preseason action on Thursday night.

What were your biggest takeaways from the Patriots’ joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts? Drop your thoughts in the comments below and join the conversation on Patriots Roundtable.

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