The New England Patriots are fortunate they’re still three months away from the start of the 2023 season.

If it was September, the Patriots’ wide receiver situation would be calamitous. But it’s not, so the fact that New England’s top four wide receivers weren’t practicing Tuesday is simply something to monitor with mandatory minicamp on the horizon.

Head coach Bill Belichick said before Tuesday’s session that the tempo would be turned down. He wasn’t lying. New England still went through 11-on-11 drills, but they didn’t seem full speed and full effort.

— Kicker Nick Folk, wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton and Kendrick Bourne, edge defender Matthew Judon, offensive linemen Mike Onwenu, Conor McDermott and Trent Brown and defensive lineman Lawrence Guy were absent from Tuesday’s OTAs session.

— Further complicating the wide receiver shortage, wide receiver DeVante Parker was among the players limited in Tuesday’s session along with running back James Robinson, tight end Scotty Washington, safeties Adrian Phillips and Cody Davis, cornerback Marcus Jones and offensive lineman Chasen Hines.

— Rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez, long snapper Joe Cardona, defensive tackles Davon Godchaux and Christian Barmore and rookie cornerback Isaiah Bolden returned to practice after last week’s absences.

— That meant New England’s top wide receivers were rookies Kayshon Boutte and Demario Douglas, QB/WR Malik Cunningham, Tre Nixon, Raleigh Webb and the newly-signed undrafted rookie Ed Lee.

— Quarterback Mac Jones still went 7-of-8 in 11-on-11 drills. Bailey Zappe was 10-of-14, and Trace McSorely, looking like Damon Huard rocking the red No. 19 non-contact jersey, was 4-of-6.

— Jones and the other QBs spent time with rookie wide receivers after practice.

— Tight end Mike Gesicki was heavily involved with the lack of wide receivers. He spent a side session with quarterbacks, tight end Hunter Henry and running back Rhamondre Stevenson during special teams drills.

— Gonzalez was thrust into a starting role in his return to practice. The top secondary was Gonzalez, Jonathan Jones, Jalen Mills, Jabrill Peppers and Kyle Dugger with Phillips and Marcus Jones not practicing. Dugger raved about Gonzalez's athleticism after practice but stopped short of saying the rookie would beat him in a race.

— There was a brief fight at practice. Barmore and left guard Cole Strange didn’t finish practice after their involvement. Barmore threw a punch.

— Rookie third-round pick Marte Mapu was a college defensive back but is listed as a linebacker. He showed off his versatility in practice Tuesday. After the session, Dugger stressed the importance of players learning linebacker and safety because of their interchangeability in New England’s defense.

— Undrafted rookie linebacker Jourdan Heilig barely played defense at Appalachian State. It made sense to see him working on special teams during 11-on-11 drills. That will be his path to a roster spot.

— The offensive line will look different when Onwenu and Brown are back, but the top unit consisted of Calvin Anderson, Strange, David Andrews, Atonio Mafi and Riley Reiff.

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