After two days of high energy work, Mike Vrabel and the Patriots slowed things a bit on Friday, conducting a walkthrough in steamy Foxborough. The practice went roughly 90 minutes and featured plenty of third-down work on both sides of the ball.

The players weren't in helmets or cleats with most choosing to wear various bucket and baseball hats instead. Only the quarterbacks had helmets, as Drake Maye, Joshua Dobbs and Ben Wooldridge received the play calls through the communication system.

The emphasis was third down and the defense used a variety of nickel and dime looks with both three safeties and three corners depending on the rep. Carlton Davis, who missed Thursday's practice, was in uniform and was part of the secondary throughout the team periods. Vrabel said Davis' absence wasn't unexpected.

"Just kind of maintenance and continuing to kind of give him what he needs as part of the plan," Vrabel said. "Again, that's my job each and every day, is to figure out what everybody's going to do and how they're going to contribute each day to us winning."

There weren't a lot of takeaways in terms of performance given the throttled-down nature of the practice, but there was still plenty of work going on. K'Lavon Chaisson spent more than 20 minutes working out after practice before spending some time with the media.

"I do understand that it's a blessing to be here, I don't take that for granted," he said when asked about his extra reps. "I've been on the injury side, I've been on the side of not being able to be on the team before. So, any chance I get to lace up and put a jersey on and put a logo on my helmet or on my chest and my jersey, my name on the back of the jersey, I just try to give everything that I got during that time. And I let everything else play out.

"I don't try to miss any extra reps I can get out here. I do want to do as much as I can, obviously for the betterment of myself, also for the team."

Here's what stood out during Day 3 of training camp.

*No changes to the lists as Mack Hollins, Vederian Lowe and Austin Hooper remain on PUP while Josh Minkins is still on NFI. Both Davis and undrafted rookie Jahvaree Ritzie were back in uniform after missing one day. Wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk once again was not spotted, and Vrabel was asked about the valuable time he's missing early on in camp.

"There's a lot of ways around being out here at practice," Vrabel said. "I think that everybody, whether that's a first-year, second-year, 10-year, we think that practice is important. But obviously there's circumstances around being out here and not being out here and how you can stay up with the installation.

"At the beginning part of camp, there is installation. It's a repeat from the spring. So, hopefully any player that's not out here can stay engaged, continue to learn and get the information that they need, and then be ready when they get back. I think that's the important thing – just focusing on doing everything that you can to get back as quickly as possible, but also when you do get back, there's not a big drop-off of information lost when you get back."

*Rookie Jared Wilson continues to rotate into the offensive line early in team periods. On Friday he took reps at left and right guard as well as center. It appears that the third-round pick out of Georgia will be in the mix for a role, whether that be as a starter or a top backup at any of the three interior positions. Wilson missed some time during the spring with an undisclosed ailment and Vrabel credited his ability to hit the ground running while referencing Polk's situation.

"I think that he's a quick learner. He's been able to learn two positions inside, as far as center and guard," Vrabel began. "I would say to Karen [Guregian's] question [about Polk], he was one of those players that maybe wasn't out there as much on the field in the spring, but really was able to grasp it mentally and allow that to carry over when he had an opportunity to be on the field. So, he was able to show, for a young player, some of those things to be ready when he got his opportunity to be on the field."

*Linebacker Christian Elliss offered an interesting comparison for his coach when chatting with the media after practice. "He's like a golden retriever, very high energy," Elliss said when asked about his impressions of his new coach. "He's fun to be around, very smart – his intelligence for the game and techniques and schemes is very impressive."

*Speaking of players' impressions of their new coach, Keion White offered a different perspective. "My relationship with my coach is all about wins and losses," he said. "The biggest thing for me is winning and can he make me a better player."

When asked a follow-up, White responded: "I think he's a pretty good coach."

Why?

"Because he helps me get better."

*In addition to Elliss, White and Chaisson, Kyle Dugger, Garrett Bradbury, Marcus Jones and Christian Gonzalez were among those spending time with the media.

*Practice is expected to ramp up again in Foxborough on Saturday with another workout that will be open to the media and public. Gates will open at 9:15 a.m. with practice set to begin at 10:15 a.m.

DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer