13 Patriots takeaways from fight-filled Panthers practice: Mac Jones and offense look better, DeVante Parker shines

New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones passes during an NFL football joint practice with the Carolina Panthers, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
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FOXBOROUGH — Earlier this summer at Gillette Stadium, Elton John sang Saturday night is all right for fighting. That doesn’t apply to Tuesday mornings on Bill Belichick’s watch.

As the Patriots hosted the Panthers for the first of two joint practices, five players were ejected from two full-on fights, and there was another scuffle. But beyond the bouts, there was plenty more to take away. Against a real opponent, Mac Jones and the Patriots offense began putting things together, and a leader in the James White replacement sweepstakes emerged.

Here are 13 things you need to know from Tuesday’s joint practices:

1. Offense gets on track

It was far from perfect, but Mac Jones and the offense took a step forward on Tuesday.

The second-year quarterback went 21-for-30 in 11-on-11 periods, and 6-for-9 in 7-on-7s. He only threw one interception — to linebacker Frankie Luvu — but that was on a gotta-have-it play in the two-minute drill. Belichick had left 0:05 on the clock, so turning it over was the same as a safer incompletion.

But numbers aside, the group just looked more in sync.

The run stuffs that had plagued the group early in camp were few and far between, and Jones was ready to air it out. He had been hesitant to do so when the offensive line looked leakier. Jones connected with DeVante Parker for 30-yards and Nelson Agholor drew a defensive pass interference that would have netted roughly 50 yards. The high completion percentage wasn’t a product of just checking it down.

2. Parker in a starring role

The former Dolphin was New England’s best receiver on Tuesday morning.

Parker caught five passes from Jones in 11-on-11 drills and out-battled Panthers defensive backs to catch a couple different 50-50 balls on the sideline. The wide receiver doesn’t always get a ton of separation, but Jones is confident enough that he’ll win jump balls to keep throwing them his way.

“If the ball’s in the air, it’s mine,” Parker said. “It’s more like a 80-20 (ball than 50-50).”

3. Montgomery in the James White role

When the Patriots went to a two-minute drill at the end of practice, it was Ty Montgomery who got the first crack as the pass-catching back.

He did quite well.

Montgomery caught three passes on the drive that likely would have totaled 40 yards or so, and looked very comfortable shifting out of the backfield (with good reason, given all of his experience playing wide receiver). It’ll be interesting to see if it’s his job to lose moving forward. Rhamondre Stevenson had gotten most of those reps on Monday.

4. Wilkerson vs. Everybody

Okay, okay, okay, we’ll get to the fights.

It all started with a 7-on-7 period about an hour into the session. Against the Patriots starting offense, Carolina’s defense was enjoying great success at punching footballs out. Devin Asiasi fumbled, there were a pair of passes punched out, and Jakobi Meyers may have lost another fumble too, had he not been out of bounds.

The Panthers were letting the Patriots hear it.

Tension was also building for Kristian Wilkerson in particular. The Panthers were getting awfully handsy with the wide out, spinning him at the whistle (or after it, depending on who is asked). In an 11-on-11 period, Wilkerson caught a ball right on the Carolina sideline on an out route. It looked like a Panthers staffer said something to him, Wilkerson turned and responded, and the Carolina bench mobbed the Patriots wide receiver.

Then it was bedlam.

The New England sideline emptied and players sprinted all the way over from the far field, too. (Think bullpens emptying in a baseball fight). Whistles were blaring as players swarmed for a solid minute or so. Kendrick Bourne joined the fray and began throwing haymakers.

When the melee was finally broken up, Wilkerson’s helmet had been ripped off. The coaching staffs conferred, and Wilkerson, Bourne, and Panthers safety Kenny Robinson were all ejected.

5. Brown vs. Burns

That didn’t get the bad blood out of everybody’s system though.

A snap or two later, Trent Brown and Brian Burns decided to play through a whistle and needed to be separated, though neither was tossed. Burns was the edge rusher who had his ankle twisted by Mac Jones last season and then wished “happy hunting” to fellow defensive ends, so there’s some history between the two. Brown likely hadn’t forgotten that.

6. Ferentz vs. Hoskins

Moments later? You guessed it. Another fight.

As James Ferentz finished his block on Panthers defensive tackle Phil Hoskins, the two went barreling into the Carolina sideline. Another scrum followed and whistles went wild. Ferentz and Hoskins were both ejected, though the Patriots center was quite vocal in expressing his displeasure because he’d never thrown a punch. He was just finishing his block.

At that point, Belichick had seen enough. As the period ended, the Patriots coach gathered his entire team for a lengthy huddle. It wasn’t hard to guess what Belichick’s message was.

7. Brown looks dominant

Okay, back to football.

Brown was a standout in 1-on-1 pass rush drills. The hulking tackle won three straight reps with relative ease — it looked like he didn’t break a sweat — and could be primed for a monster season.

8. Mills shuts it down on the goal line

While most of our attention was focused on the offense Tuesday, it was impossible not to notice Jalen Mills on defense. The cornerback broke up three passes, including a couple at the goal line in a two-minute drill, and let the Panthers hear it. He’s clearly been New England’s best corner this summer.

9. Wade finds an INT

During Carolina’s late two-minute drill, Shaun Wade picked Sam Darnold off.

Darnold’s ball was batted at the line of scrimmage — it might have been LaBryan Ray, but there were a ton of beefy arms in the air — and Wade made an athletic play to come down with it. He’s fallen behind Marcus Jones on the depth chart, but it was encouraging to see some production from the second-year corner.

10. Henry leaves early

Hunter Henry departed practice with an injury and didn’t return.

That meant more reps for Asiasi, which didn’t go terribly well. The tight end caught a ball from Jones in 7-on-7s, but promptly had it punched out for the fumble referenced earlier.

11. Still no Butler

Malcolm Butler headlined the Patriots’ absences for the second straight day. They were also without Isaiah Wynn, Justin Herron, Joejuan Williams, Bill Murray and Andrew Stueber (NFI).

Before the practice, Belichick described Wynn as “day-to-day.” In his place, Yodny Cajuste continued to start.

12. Alumni welcome

There were plenty of former Patriots on hand bright and early. Patrick Chung helped coach up defensive backs during an individual period, Rob Ninkovich gave Josh Uche 1-on-1 pass rushing instruction, and Nate Ebner was present, too.

13. So, same time tomorrow?

Tuesday’s joint practice was easily the most action-packed of the summer. The two teams are back at it again on Wednesday morning and admission is free to the public.

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