Patriots training camp opens in Foxboro. Here's what happened

FOXBORO – The expectations have restored normalcy.

The New England Patriots are contenders from the onset of training camp. Foxboro is a free agent, and trade, destination again. A future Hall of Famer pushed to join New England on the back practice field for the first summer day of camp.

Drake Maye’s opening pass attempt of the summer was a back shoulder fade, against Christian Gonzalez, to A.J. Brown in front of a packed training camp on Saturday, July 25. What follows over the next weeks, and season, is New England meeting such promising prospects after reaching the Super Bowl in Mike Vrabel’s first season as head coach.

“Our job is to re-create the things that we did really well last year,” Vrabel said. “The culture, the ability to win in different ways and find ways to win. Understand how to win and understand how to prepare, and you know we're going to have a more difficult journey. That's just how it goes each and every year. That's what we're expecting, so we want it that way, and we'll prepare accordingly.”

Cam Carreiro has rushed to his spot on the hill, as the first fan against the ropes, watching over the main practice field for over a decade. The East Providence native is as veteran to the practice fields as any of those wearing blue and white jerseys. He’s been rewarded for his patience through the end of the Bill Belichick era and a year of setbacks with Jerod Mayo. But the 20-year-old isn’t letting New England rest on its laurels.

“The expectations this season is to make sure that we show the league that we weren't just a fluke of a team last year, and it wasn't just an easy schedule,” Carreiro said. “We have to come out Week 1 and go to Seattle and come back with that [win] and just have our head on the right shoulders and don't think about last year.”

Brown’s arrival, after a June trade with Philadelphia, only reminds Carreiro of how New England once competed. Romeo Doubs opting to sign with the Patriots and DeAndre Hopkins asking to be in Foxboro in a coaching role makes consecutive 4-13 seasons in 2023-24 seem so distant.

“Tomorrow, I got [Brown’s] poster for Sunday training camp,” Carreiro said. “I'm excited to see how he's going to bring his size. He's a huge wide receiver and in a crowded wide receiver room. He's a veteran presence, and we got [Hopkins] here, too. We got DeAndre Hopkins in practice right now. It's just going to be amazing.”

Maye and Brown didn’t connect much, and it’s hard to gauge offensive success without the pads, on Day 1. But it’s the duo that instills extra confidence in the fans and team with a rematch against the Seahawks looming in about six weeks.

“One-on-one over there with [Gonzalez], I tried to start camp off with a bang,” Maye said. “I got to make a better throw for him. I think it’s great competition for them two all camp, and [Carlton Davis]. We have two great corners, we have Marcus [Jones] inside, a great secondary.”

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Gonzalez is searching for a new contract and was a full participant in Saturday’s practice. Robert Kraft said earlier in the day that the Patriots offered to make him the highest-paid corner in the league. A new deal hasn’t been inked yet, but Gonzalez was there in a sign of good faith and another star for Patriots fans to see.

“I tore my ACL, MCL and PCL my freshman year in high school playing football,” Carreiro said. “I just wanted to find a way to get back into [football], and I got back into it by doing this.”

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Patriots training camp opens in Foxboro. Here's what happened