Patriots notebook: Matthew Judon returns to practice, Joe Milton hype goes national

After a day off Wednesday, the New England Patriots returned to the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium on Thursday for a nearly two-hour, no-pads training camp session in 90-plus-degree heat.

The biggest story was the return of Matthew Judon, who participated in the full practice. Judon, who is in the midst of a contract dispute with the team, sat off to the side at Monday’s practice and left early after conversations with Jerod Mayo, Eliot Wolf and Matt Groh. The linebacker was not present at all Tuesday.

Judon avoided cameras Thursday by taking a back route onto the field and did not interact with fans the same way he usually does, but he did participate in every drill, even leading a couple of them, and appeared to turn in an honest effort.

Mayo addressed the situation before practice and said he “had a great meeting” with Judon after the way things played out earlier this week.

“My philosophy and our philosophy is to keep as much internal as possible,” Mayo said. “I had a great meeting with Judon, and we’re all moving forward. I remember as a player, it’s always a difficult time. It’s always a difficult time when you go through contract negotiations and things like that. And in saying that, for the rest of the team, we’re pushing forward.”

Mayo was asked a follow-up specifically about what happened Monday, when a couple animated conversations played out in front of fans and media.

“I’ll tell you this: first-time head coach and first time in pads, I’ll always remember what happened that day,” Mayo said. “In saying that, look, we had a conversation. I have a great relationship with Matthew. I have a great relationship with the players. But we’re moving forward.

“…I always encourage guys to come in and speak with me or speak with Eliot. That’s what it is. And those things should happen inside those walls.”

There’s nothing really surprising in Mayo’s comments, but it did sound like a bit of a shift from the Mayo of the first couple days of camp who welcomed players like Judon and Davon Godchaux speaking their minds and holding impromptu media scrums. It seems like Judon found the line of what Mayo is OK with being public and what he’s not.

Here are some other takeaways and notes from Thursday:

-- Speaking of Godchaux, Thursday marked the defensive tackle’s first practice since signing a two-year extension on Wednesday. Godchaux expressed gratitude that he and the Patriots were able to eventually work something out.

“It’s good to be back,” Godchaux said. “Good to be out here with my brothers, making plays and getting ready for the 2024 season.

“…My wife made me realize something: you know, every time, you’re not going to get what you want, but you can always be grateful for it. I’m grateful for her words. I’m grateful for my agent, working it out with the Patriots, Eliot Wolf, Matt Groh. I’m glad we got something done.”

Unlike Judon, Godchaux continued to practice while working towards a new deal, an approach that Mayo appreciated.

“That is our philosophy,” Mayo said. “And once again, this isn’t unique to the New England Patriots as far as guys wanting a new contract. But he handled it like a professional in the classroom and out here on the field. He was out here in full pads, participating, everything, and that definitely helps.”

Mayo wasn’t talking about Judon there, but whether he meant for it to come across as a compare-and-contrast of how each player handled their contract dispute, the praise for Godchaux’s approach is certainly notable.

Godchaux, for his part, wants to see the team take care of Judon next.

“I still want to see my brother Matthew Judon get his contract,” Godchaux said. “As we all know, it’s a business. But he deserves to have a new contract. We’re all pulling for him, because he’s been a relentless pass rusher for us for the last three years. We came in together. I would love to keep building with him. But we all know this is a business.”

-- Center David Andrews also returned to practice after missing a couple days. He revealed after practice that the reason for his absence was that his baby boy was in the hospital, which is obviously more than understandable. Andrews thanked Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence for their care and said he was optimistic his son would be able to return home later Thursday.

Andrews said he had not yet spoken to teammate Christian Barmore after the defensive tackle was diagnosed with blood clots over the weekend, but was planning to soon. Andrews missed the entire 2019 season after dealing with blood clots himself.

“There will be a chance for me to sit down and talk, and I look forward to that,” Andrews said. “…It’s definitely scary. I’m glad he’s doing well, things like that. But it is different, and each case is different.”

Mayo reinforced that Barmore is “in good spirits.”

-- Rookie sixth-round pick Joe Milton has excited fans at training camp with his rocket arm and standing backflips, but some in the media are now kicking up the hype a notch.

First came Ben Volin’s assessment in The Boston Globe on Tuesday that Milton had outplayed fellow rookie quarterback Drake Maye through the first six practices of camp. That’s not too unreasonable.

But then Colin Cowherd took that report national on “The Herd” Thursday and said he wouldn’t be “shocked” if Milton wins the starting quarterback job.

“The sixth-round quarterback, Joe Milton, is going to probably win the job because he’s the athlete,” Cowherd said. “He’s the bigger, stronger, more dynamic athlete, and they don’t have any at wide receiver, tight end, running back. … Joe Milton will make plays.”

Cowherd’s argument is that the Patriots are going to need whoever their quarterback is to do a lot of heavy lifting because of the lack of weapons elsewhere on the offense, and Milton is more capable of creating something out of nothing than Maye.

It’s a juicy take, but at this point, the chances of Milton beating out Maye and/or Jacoby Brissett seem pretty slim. Milton has made some impressive throws, including connecting on three touchdowns in a four-play span during red-zone drills on Thursday, but as Andrew Callahan of The Boston Herald recently pointed out , he has also thrown interceptions and taken sacks at a higher rate than Maye.

And, we have to note on Maye that Thursday was a pretty good bounce-back for the third overall pick after a couple down practices. He did miss on a couple connections during 1-on-1 red-zone drills, but looked better during the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 portions, including a nice connection with tight end La’Michael Pettway in the corner of the end zone and another to find K.J. Osborn in the back of the end zone while throwing off-platform. During 11-on-11s, Maye also made an adjustment at the line of scrimmage to beat a blitz that immediately drew praise from Brissett.

Perhaps we should slow down the Milton hype train (and the Maye hate train) just a little bit.

-- Speaking of hype trains, the one for Tyquan Thornton is now boarding, and our own Andy Hart is the conductor.

“The best, most consistent offensive player through seven practices,” Hart said of the third-year wide receiver on Gresh & Fauria Thursday.

Thornton beat presumed No. 1 corner Christian Gonzalez twice during red-zone 1-on-1 drills. During 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s, he was running with the ones along with K.J. Osborn.

Of course, Thornton has looked good in camp in the past, only to get injured before he had any chance to make an impact in the regular season.

Counted out by many who have been willing to write off the 2022 second-round pick as a bust, Thornton is instead making a strong case to not only make the team, but possibly start… if he can stay healthy.